


Snow Lift Proposal

by Dr_Cat



Category: Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Genre: Blizzards & Snowstorms, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Party, F/M, First Dates, Trapped In Elevator
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-28
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:22:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 28,258
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27763693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dr_Cat/pseuds/Dr_Cat
Summary: After a day of Christmas shopping, what was meant to be a short, two-minute descent ends up turning into a three-day ordeal for Sonic and Amy.
Relationships: Amy Rose/Sonic the Hedgehog
Comments: 10
Kudos: 47





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: The author does not own any of the characters in this story, nor is the story affiliated with Sega or Sonic Team in any way.

Snowflakes danced freely in the late winds of December, creating tiny whirlwinds of white powder and artful wisps of crystal patterns in the evening light. They traveled on the dry, cold air of winter over the open fields of the country and through the frost-laden trees in the forests, not wanting to reside on branches or snowbanks along the way. It was as if they would float on forever, never to settle down, but fly on. Still, as they made their journey above a town lit with Christmas lights and street lamps, the wind died down to a gentle breeze allowing the traveling flakes to begin a new journey downward, drifting to the buildings below. Finally, they would come to rest after their long trip through the endless sky.

Among the many offices, stores, and homes receiving snow that Christmas night, sat a small apartment building. The snowflakes landed on the window sills and balconies of the tenants, adding extra authenticity to their holiday decorations and more to the mounds of snow there already. One occupant, in particular, was especially intent on watching the display before them. Considering the three-day ordeal she had been through concerning heavy snowfall, she was in a good mood. In fact, one could say she was tickled pink if it wasn't for the fact she normally was that color anyway. A fairly beautiful, pink hedgehog in her early twenties sat near the snowy scene dressed in a pink lace nightgown.

Amy Rose looked out her window and allowed a wide smile to take her features. She had just gotten home from what should have been a few hours of shopping but turned into something more. Her gaze slowly strayed down to her mug full of hot chocolate and she took a deep breath of the steam, warming up her being with a sip. As she sat on her couch, she drew the warm comforter snugly to her body with her left hand and noticed the reason she was especially joyful this year. It caused her mind to wind back and reflect upon the events that took place only a couple of days ago.

_December 23_

"I swear, Amy, this is the last time I let you drag me into this again."

"Oh, come on, Sonic, it's not that bad," Amy responded, blissfully unaware of the many reasons Sonic counted off in his head as to why he should have stayed in bed rather than come along on her last-minute Christmas shopping adventure in the first place.

"Wonder where we are; do you know?" she asked. Sonic cringed at the question, hearing it now for only the hundredth utmost time which happened to be one of his many reasons not to have joined her. It, along with the crowds, was driving him crazy.

"Look, Amy, if anyone knows this shopping center better, it's you, not me . . . Fine, I don't know, look at one of those you-are-here signs," Sonic directed testily as he adjusted one of the several bags he had the honor of lugging around; reason number two. The temptation to drop and run was high. Amy gave the blue hedgehog a side glare, not enjoying his tone of voice at all. Honestly, she hadn't dragged him in to shop with her this time. She simply asked and he agreed. Now, he was acting like a two-year-old just because the trip had turned into an all-day expedition.

"Thanks, Sonic," she said curtly as she headed for the sign he had spoken of. Sonic sighed, but followed suit, trying his best not to curse the shoebox that was jabbing into his tenderized side, reason number three.

"It says here we're on B17 next to the pretzel shop. Okay, there's an elevator five stores down from here," Amy stated.

"Hallelujah! Let's get some pretzels; I'm starving," Sonic cheered, heading straight across to soft pretzel heaven. Amy sighed, but in a knowing manner. No wonder he was acting so cranky; he was hungry. She knew that, next to being cooped up or bored stiff, an empty stomach for the blue blur was an irritation. She followed him over to the shop, feeling her own stomach growl as the smell of salted baked doe reached her nose. Looking down at her watch, she noted the time was four-thirty; later than she thought. The bargain hunter in her wanted to hit a few more stores on this floor, but, on seeing the time and Sonic's tired face, she decided heading home was probably a better idea. After all, he had been kind enough to come with her on his own and she certainly didn't want this to be the last time.

"Sonic?"

"Hum," Sonic responded with a mouth full of bread. Amy couldn't help but chuckle at her companion's puffed out cheeks as he quickly made an attempt to swallow.

"I think we'll head home now," she announced. It didn't take a skilled observer to see the smile of joy in the blue hedgehog's eyes at the prospect, but still, he tried to remain inconspicuous, not wanting to hurt her feelings too badly.

"Really? Are you sure? We still have daylight," he asked raising an eyebrow.

"Cut it out. I know you're happy," she stated with a smirk, shoving him playfully. Sonic grinned. He liked it much better when she was happy instead of upset and, considering they have been coming to nice relational terms with each other for about a year now, that was a good thing.

"I'm sure you . . ." Amy started but was interrupted by her gurgling stomach again.

"Hungry?" Sonic quipped, offering her the other pretzel he had in his hand and turning back to the teenage vendor for a couple more.

"How many of those are you going to eat?" Amy asked as she accepted the food and took a bite.

"Just enough to last me until we reach the Chinese restaurant I saw earlier on the first floor."

Amy rolled her eyes but gratefully finished off her pretzel just as Sonic received his others in a paper bag.

"Merry Christmas, Sonic," the teenaged fox said as he handed the hedgehog his change.

"Merry Christmas to you too, Alex," Sonic replied, reading the name tag on the youth's shirt. As the two hedgehogs walked away they could hear Alex literally squeal in delight at serving Sonic the Hedgehog.

"Must be his first day here," Sonic stated, before a little mischief entered his voice, "Usually they give me the pretzels for free and throw in a pretzel dog while they're at it."

"Stop it," Amy chided with almost a straight face, almost. They made their way over to the elevator that had been pointed out by the sign earlier. Sonic inwardly groaned as they reached the silver doors of the 'sardine can' as he so lovingly called it. It wasn't that he was necessarily frightened of elevators, but something about being enclosed in a small area rubbed his fur the wrong way and he'd prefer to take the stairs any day. This elevator was particularly irritating for him though, because, despite it being a bit more spacious than most others he'd encountered, probably to accommodate large crowds, this particular mall thought it would be even more splendid to have the sardine can descend through a cascade of fish, reefs, and bubbles. That meant water on all four sides for seventeen stories, a total of two whole minutes. This did frighten him.

"Man, I hate this mall," he complained as the doors slid open to reveal the agua chamber.

"I know, Sonic, but with all these bags this is the quickest way down," Amy assured him, stepping in and placing her bags beside her.

"I know," he mumbled, stepping on as well and swearing to find the person responsible for building this twenty-story monster and giving them a piece of his mind. Then his face lit up as he saw it sitting right across from the elevator, or more correctly standing. It was a drink machine with everything from water and passion fruit drinks to soda and hot chocolate.

"Amy, wait!" Sonic shouted as he reached out, bags and all, and stopped the doors from shutting. He could feel the familiar tinge of thirst in his throat and a nice beverage sounded really good.

"Sonic?" Amy questioned, surprised by his sudden actions as she watched him race to the vending machine. Rolling her eyes for the tenth time that day, she placed some bags in front of the doors to keep them open and stepped back out of the elevator to make her way over to the blue hedgehog who appeared to be in great thought.

"What's wrong," she asked with a hint of sarcasm. For someone who made such a big deal of wanting to get out of here so fast, he sure was taking his time.

"I'm trying to decide if I want strawberry-banana blend or tropical berry blast. Maybe I want a soda, instead, or hot cocoa," he mused, rubbing his chin like a scholar which actually was a labored task considering he was weighed down by three pairs of shoes, five designer dresses, a couple of jackets, and who knew but Amy what else. She insisted they were Christmas gifts for friends, but Sonic assumed there was a three to one ratio going on. Buy three gifts for friends and one gift for herself. He figured this out when she started trying on some of the items she was getting.

"Move you. I already know what I want," Amy smiled, playfully pushing Sonic aside as she proceeded to take some money out of her purse. To be honest, the pretzel had made her thirsty too, and a bottle of water didn't seem so bad. She placed four quarters into the coin slot and pushed the button that displayed her drink of choice. After a moment her reward was produced at the bottom slot as she bent down to collect it.

"Why would you pay for water . . ." Sonic began until Amy rose up with not one but two bottles of water.

"I've been here before, this machine's broken, but it's only the water."

"Oh," he replied as he took the extra bottle Amy was offering out to him, "but I still want something with sugar in it."

And with that, Amy proceeded to drag Sonic to the elevator, no if, ands, or buts. Once inside, the pink hedgehog pressed the white plastic button on the control panel labeled with the numeral one as her gaze trailed over to the highly agitated and slightly nervous male at her side. Sonic had already placed loads of purchased items on the marble floor, including the water and pretzels, and had crossed his arms as he resorted to tapping one foot rapidly to release tension. Judging by his peeved expression Amy knew this was going to be a long two minutes, but, even in the face of a bad attitude, she still had the persistence to try and start a conversation.

"I like how you can see outside through the aquarium. It looks so nice with the snow falling behind it. What do you think?" she probed, hoping to at least curb Sonic's mood. He just quirked an eyebrow at her, not uncrossing his arms or stopping his tapping foot.

"Yeah, nice. You don't feel so claustrophobic."

Amy sighed inwardly and decided to take a sip of her water and nonchalantly did so. After putting the cap back on, she looked back up to see Sonic had switched feet in tapping and was staring intently at the floor numbers as they passed on the small screen above the door.

"Honestly, Sonic, it's not that bad," Amy huffed, agitated with his impatience. Was it really that hard for him to stand in one spot for a few minutes?

"Yes, it is. Can't this thing go any faster!?" Sonic demanded, feeling anger replacing annoyance. He was ready to get out of this mall. Was that too much to ask?

"Can't you just stand still for two minutes, for me? It's not going to kill you," Amy could feel her own temper flare. Of course, he could stay still if it was something he wanted to do. Why couldn't he just pretend he was happy doing something she wanted to do?

"I hate these things, you know that!" Sonic declared coming off a bit defensive. He had come with her, shopped for five hours with her, and even carried those bags for her. Why couldn't she appreciate that?

"Fine, why did you come in the first place then?! You knew I would take the elevator!"

"You asked me to! Had I known we were going to the seventeenth floor, stopping on every floor in between, maybe I wouldn't of."

"Well, no one was making you stay. If you hated it so badly why didn't you just go home?"

By now both hedgehogs were yelling, steaming with energy and anger. Apart from being different colors and the opposite sex, they looked identical in features; flared nostrils, erect quills, narrowed eyes, clenched fists, and bared teeth. If someone were to happen on the scene they would swear both looked like they were out for blood.

"I would have gone home, but a little pink someone insisted I carry the bags and judge clothing tryouts," he said evenly.

"Well, I'm sorry. It's not my fault a certain blue person can't focus long enough to string a sentence together like 'Gee Pink, can we go home, I'm tired, please!" Amy remarked with sarcasm.

"Oh, my apology. I was only trying to help you out. I thought after the hundredth time of saying can we do something else maybe you would have caught a clue," Sonic stated hotly.

"Pardon me, was that before or after you told me 'sure I'll come with you' then made me miserable with your constant complaining," she said angrily, but the hurt was becoming evident in her voice. How did this argument start? She didn't want the day to end like this and especially around Christmas time. He did help her, but she was so upset and angry her hurt wouldn't let her drop her guard.

"Whatever," Sonic mumbled, glaring at her but feeling equally as hurt and guilty. He didn't really want to pick a fight with Amy but he was still irritated by the situation. Was this trip a waste? He knew his behavior wasn't top notch but did he make her miserable? That's not what he intended at all, he was just tired.

Both settled on silence for a moment, mulling over their own injured emotions and occasionally sighing in exasperation. Neither wanted to add to the argument but they didn't want to admit defeat either. However, as the jazzy rendition of 'God Rest Thee Merry Gentleman' began to play over the speaker, stubbornness in the room eventually lost out. For the hedgehogs, this was not something to lose love and goodwill over.

"Amy . . ."

"Sonic . . ."

They could hear the apologetic note in the other's voice and said together, "I'm sorry."

They smiled at one another and Sonic returned to his impatient stance but with a smirk on his face instead of a frown. Amy shook her head and gave a stifled laugh.

"Some things just don't change with you, do they? Well, at least we're on our way home . . ."

Without warning the elevator stopped, causing its occupants to lurch in their balance. Amy looked down to see if any of the other buttons were lit up which would indicate other passengers were waiting to board, but the first floor was all that shone.

"What's going on," Sonic inquired as his eyes drifted from there spot on the floor-gauge to Amy.

"I don't know," she replied, pressing the number once again. The machine jerked and shuddered, but didn't budge. The two exchanged a look of both annoyance and concern.

"I think it's stuck."


	2. Chapter 2

"Wha- what do you mean stuck?" Sonic exasperated. Amy pressed the button again, but no response came.

"I mean, it's stuck."

"Oh, great," Sonic griped; his past resentment of this trip evident in his voice, "Perfect ending to a perfect day."

"Stop it, Sonic. We'll just call for help," she said, pushing the emergency call buzzer. They waited and waited and waited some more, but nothing came from the speaker plate. Amy could now feel real fear settle into her mind. She pressed the button again and again, and still, there was no answer, time after time. The thought of being trapped in an elevator without any help didn't sit well with her, but the slightest inkling of that thought drove Sonic up the wall.

"Move, Amy, let me try!" Sonic directed hastily, pressing buttons and feeling his anxiety level building. He felt trapped and he was. To him, this was like a worst-case nightmare come true. He was trapped in what felt like a teeny-tiny box suspended under one of his major fears, water, with Amy Rose; an individual who usually made him feel nervous in the best of circumstances . . . What had he done to deserve this? He thought he was doing a nice thing, a good thing in helping Amy out, but now he was stuck in an eight by six prison with emergency patrol out to lunch!

"Sonic, maybe we should . . ."

Suddenly, the lights began to flicker off and on until they cut out completely. Luckily, they still had sunlight wiggling in through the water tank that surrounded the chaise, but the coming snowstorm was making that small source of light fade away fast. With her own fear rising, Amy watched as Sonic began to yell and shout for help and jump up and down; whether to attract assistance or get the elevator to fall she didn't know. It wasn't that she was really scared, but uneasy she guessed; the darkness wasn't helping either. This was the first time she had been trapped in an elevator, so, it was just new. Letting out a breath of air through pressed lips, she leaned up against the wall and decided to be patient, or, at least, ignore her thoughts of suffocation in here.

"Someone will find us," she voiced aloud more to herself than anything, "they have to know we're in here."

"Yeah, but that could be for hours!" Sonic stressed. Despite the situation, Amy couldn't help but smile and shake her head. To her, it was just too funny to see Sonic like this, especially when it was usually her freaking out and him the calm one. Then again, they were stuck in a small enclosed area with water all around them and darkness creeping in while the air became chilled by the outside weather and . . . the elevator music still playing? All these thoughts made her feel antsy again but at least she was holding it down better than her companion.

"There has to be a way out," Sonic muttered as he paced a bit, causing Amy to reflect on how cute he was when he was determined, well, in this case, frustrated.

She was, after all, stuck with the hedgehog that captured her romantic interests. So, despite the dilemma, a sly smile appeared on her lips. For her, this could be seen as a twisted form of divine providence. Grant it, an elevator was the last place she really wanted to be for a sit-down chat with Sonic, but he couldn't run off anywhere now even if the conversation went too lovey-dovey for his taste. More importantly, she could make up for the earlier argument properly so there wouldn't be any hard feelings for the holiday. However, seeing the guy ping off the walls gave her the impression this was going to be easier said than done.

Sonic's thoughts could be no further from hers than they were right now. He wasn't interested in making do with patience. He wanted out and he wanted it now. He wasn't necessarily panicked anymore, but he was agitated and troubled. It had been such a loooong day . . .

"We'll be stuck in this thing forever if we don't find one. Come on, Amy, help me get out of here," he addressed as he began pulling at the double doors.

"Sonic? What are you doing?" Amy said, jumping up in alarm. She didn't know why she was distressed by it; maybe not use to someone trying to open the doors on a broken elevator in a non-life-threatening situation, she supposed.

"I'm trying to get us out of here. What does it look like?" he grunted as he successfully forced the elevator doors apart, "Yes, I did it . . . oh, shoot."

Amy walked up next to him to see the same sight as he did. Before them, there was a thick, solid concrete wall with just enough room for them to squeeze a hand through around the perimeter, not themselves. Even if they could get out, down below had to be, at least, a ten-story drop as the last floor they had passed, according to Sonic, was eleven.

"I'll try the call button again," Amy suggested as she watched him place a hand on the concrete wall and frown.

"No, I don't think it'll work," he said quietly.

"Well, it's worth another shot."

"No, no. Listen to this," Sonic whispered as he motioned for her to come closer and listen in. Both hedgehogs leaned into the sound of muffled voices coming down through the elevator shaft.

"Power's out."

"For how long?"

"Who knows? Whole towns out. Hopefully, it won't be that long."

"I'm afraid it might be. Didn't you hear that announcement?"

"No, Jake, we don't all have a radio on our phones. Do you mind informing us already?" a gruff voice said, irritation evident.

"Sorry to hear that. Anyway, the snowstorm, it grew. The power plant blew a gasket and there's ice forming on the lines out there. Power could be out for days or weeks."

"Well, what about the backup generators."

"Ah, they'll run the lights and stuff, but not these big monsters. There's not enough wattage or gas."

"Well, is it possible we can run the elevators manually?"

"Yeah, I think so, but I don't know how to. If anybody wants to just give it a whirl."

"Stop it, Jake. I think we'll have to wait. Roads are closed so we can't call the maintenance company in here anyway."

"Was there anyone in them?"

"Security says the last sweep through showed no one was in the elevators."

"Well, that's a relief, let's pack up then. No power, no work. Let's go to the lounge and get a coffee," Sonic and Amy heard in horror.

"Hey! Hey, there is someone in here!" Sonic thundered up. He swiveled an ear up to listen for a response. None came.

"What? Can't they hear us?!" Amy exclaimed.

"Back up. I'm breaking through this wall," Sonic stated evenly as he gathered himself into a fighting stance.

"You can't do that, Sonic! It's the store's wall. Plus, I don't think there's enough room," Amy stated quietly as she backed up not sure of Sonic's sanity at this point.

"Watch me."

Without hesitation the blue hedgehog curled up and spun at an incredible speed, turning him into a very dangerous buzz saw. Amy yelped as she felt the cold breeze rush past her. As he lunged forward, his efforts to make a path through the concrete were in vain as he bounced off and slammed into the thick glass of the aquarium side of the elevator. He was dazed, but not discouraged.

"Are you okay?" Amy asked, trying to help him up. He just waved off her assistance. She glared. He tried again.

This time the force at which he impacted caused the elevator's doors to jerk loose and slam shut, right on the blue hedgehog's tail. He cried out as he stopped spinning, uncurled, and smacked his head on the floor.

"Oh, Sonic!" Amy exclaimed as she made her way over to the less confident hero. The position he was in was anything but flattering; him being upside down with his rear end trapped. Head on the floor, looking up at his legs, Sonic allowed a growl of annoyance to escape. Fight hundreds of deadly robots, sure. Save thousands of innocent people from a rampaging water monster, no problem. Stop complete world destruction, piece of cake. Get out of an elevator, round three, and still losing.

"I can't get enough speed in here," he moped in his embarrassment. However, things were about to get even more awkward.

"Let me help you," Amy offered innocently, forgetting she was wearing a winter's dress and that Sonic was in a position to see all but modestly. With the good graces to blush, he shut his eyes tightly and turned his head.

"Amy!" Sonic stressed, allowing the discomfort to show in his tone. The female hedgehog quickly realized her mistake and jumped back with her own embarrassed yelp.

"Sorry," she apologized, feeling her own cheeks turn red. The tension of the whole situation actually caused her to giggle nervously, almost anxiously.

"It's alright, Amy, I can get myself out," he said, realizing her uneasiness was increasing. With a few good tugs and a couple of grunts, Sonic was out of his predicament. He tried to reopen the doors, but they wouldn't budge. He resorted to pacing up and down the small space avoiding the bags on the floor. Amy followed him with her eyes quietly for a few moments until her concern won out.

"Are you okay? Does it hurt?" she asked. Sonic promptly stopped pacing and turned to look at her with a cocked eyebrow.

"What are you talking about?" he questioned.

"Your tail."

He was about to respond by saying who cares about that if it's stuck in an elevator, but then he really saw she was just as upset about the situation as he was. He could see the thoughts going through her head right now like, 'Getting angry isn't going to fix it'. He was supposed to be cool under pressure and here he was flippin' his lid. Though, he guessed if there was a time to flip one's lid this was it, but still.

"Sorry, Amy. I think I'm fine."

She was a bit shocked by the sudden shift in his mood but liked this attitude much better.

"Maybe I can try my hammer."

Sonic looked at her curiously.

"A second ago you didn't want me to open the elevator doors, now _you_ want to break the wall down with your hammer?"

"So, a woman can change her mind," Amy stated as she revealed her weapon of choice, "Plus, that elevator music is getting on my nerves. Now, please, stand back."

Sonic did so, obediently, as she raised her hammer up and gave a hard whack to the entrance. The mechanical doors snapped back open as the safety lock shook loose. It revealed the concrete behind. However, when she went to hit the wall, the force of her swing sent the elevator swaying on its cables. As it bumped into the glass walls of its shaft on the other side, rocking its occupants around, Amy quickly put away her hammer and clung to the wall.

"I'm not doing that again," she cried.

"Don't worry. I don't want you to either," Sonic stated as he too was holding onto the wall for support, praying the cables were strong enough to bear them. After the cabin came to a rest, Amy slipped to the floor amongst her Christmas purchases of the day and began to cry silently. She was supposed to attend a Christmas party tonight with Cream and Vanilla. Then she was going to wrap some of these gifts she got today and deliver them on Christmas Eve.

"I don't want to be trapped in here for Christmas," she said despairingly as tears ran down her cheeks. Sonic didn't know what to say or do, for that matter. Usually, if someone was crying he would try and say something witty or comforting enough to get them to stop, but when it came to Amy . . . his tongue was paralyzed. He never could put his finger on why, but for some reason, he would always allow Amy to cry freely. As a hero, he wasn't offered the luxury of crying very often, if at all, so, odd as it may seem, even though he felt the pain with her, he felt the release too. Plus, he could normally run away at this point, but with that no longer an option . . .

"Amy," he said softly causing her to look up abruptly at him with shimmering jade eyes. Startled by the raw emotion in her expression, he jumped back a bit, mind racing as to what he was going to say. Clichés came to mind.

"It's going to be okay. We'll be out before you know it."

Her features shifted into skepticism.

"You don't even believe that, do you?"

Sonic bent his head down, hiding his face from her for a bit as if thinking hard about the question. Then he looked back at her, a boyish grin on his face.

"No, not really."

Both hedgehogs laughed, albeit briefly.

"Okay, okay. But what can we do then?" Sonic said as he began pacing again. Amy rose up as well, drying her tears and turning to look out of the aquarium window as she thought. Jingle Bells began to play quietly over the speaker and it was at that moment Amy shouted.

"My cell phone! I can call someone and let them know we're in here," she explained as she went into action, digging through her purse. Sonic was extremely happy to hear this. For once, that thing would be put to good use. She finally found it and began dialing for help, but was shocked when the battery signal let her know it had just died, dimming the screen out.

"What? No!" she cried. She could have kicked herself for not recharging it.

"What? What do you mean no?" Sonic inquired urgently.

"The battery died."

"What?! That's so stupid. I can't believe this!"

"I'm sorry, Sonic, I thought I had enough power on it and . . . and . . ." she began to panic again.

"It's not your fault, Amy, as much as I'd like to say it is," Sonic said jokingly, trying to draw a smile and quill his own aggravated fear. It worked.

"Yeah, I bet you would," the pink hedgehog said wrily before frowning, "What are we going to do now?"

He closed his eyes, straight-faced as he crossed his arms. Amy always wondered if he did this because he was in great thought, or if he did it to hide any emotion in his facial expression and look cool. She wasn't allowed to wonder about this for long though as he opened his emerald eyes and looked into hers. A quick shiver made its way up her spine and she blushed. He just smiled and winked.

"Well, they have to find us sooner or later, right? We might as well take a load off; maybe try finding our own way out of here after a nap," he said as he slipped down to the floor and got into his classic relaxing stance against the wall; arms behind his head, one leg overlapping the other and eyes shut. Not able to resist the wonderful opportunity of getting closer to her sweetheart, the pink hedgehog made her way over to him and settled right down beside him.

"What are you doing?" he asked, popping one eye open to look at her.

"Getting comfortable," she replied innocently as she rested her head on his shoulder and let out a sigh. Sonic rolled his eyes. Leave it to Amy to make such an event as getting stuck in an elevator a romantic experience. In a way, however, it made him feel lucky. She didn't need moonlit walks on the beach or candlelight dinners at a fancy restaurant, though, she would probably like those things too, he was sure. No, she was happy to just be with him . . . which was scary to him too.

'How could she love me so much?' he thought solemnly.

Whatever the answer to that question, he was fine with letting her rest there, for now. However, as time passed, he felt her calming presence next to him, trusting him, and he was overwhelmed by the feeling of wanting to hold her close. That just plain freaked him out.

"You know, Amy, how about we play a game or something," he said hastily as he shot up quickly. Amy almost fell over at the sudden loss of support. She looked up to glare at him but noticed he was outstretching his hand to help her up, wearing an apologetic face. She took his hand as he pulled her up.

"Fine. What are we going to play?" she asked incredulously, knowing full well he had just done this to shake the romantic mood. And, to her credit, Sonic smiled sheepishly. He racked his brain for an idea.

"You're getting slow in your old age, Sonic," Amy said jokingly. The blue hedgehog playfully scowled at her before a sly smile played across his face.

"How about . . . keep away!"

"Wha-!"

Before Amy could even react, Sonic snatched her favorite red headband and dashed away. Amy, of course, took the bait and chased after him. The game lasted for about thirty seconds as the blue hedgehog bounced back and forth in the elevator while the pink one did the same. She finally picked up on a pattern, however, and stuck out her arm to catch him in the chest. His momentum carried them into the wall of the aquarium. As they waited for the elevator to quit shuddering from the impact, Amy snatched back her hairband and put it into place.

"Well, I guess we can't play that game," Sonic pouted.

Amy playfully hit him, speaking something to his childish antics.

"You could have crushed my bags or hurt yourself. You need to be more care-," Amy stopped her speech abruptly, catching Sonic off guard with a tickle attack. For being known as a strong hero and worthy adversary, Sonic was insanely ticklish and Amy, along with a few others, were close enough to him to know that. As Sonic made an effort with all his strength, and laughter, to escape his aggressor they both forgot about being stuck in an elevator for a moment's time.

"Please . . . haha, alright . . . haha, stop, please," he pleaded, taking dramatic gasps for air between each laugh. Amy smiled triumphantly.

"Okay, but who wins?" she said, catching him with another laugh.

"Fine, fine you do," he chuckled as she backed away. Wiping a tear from his eye, the blue hedgehog sat up.

"You know that was totally uncalled for," he stated with mock seriousness.

"Well, you're the one who started it. You said, let's play games, not, let's play fair . . . hey, no, no no no, you stay awa- aha."

Amy found herself with the tables turned as Sonic knew she was equally as ticklish. However, it didn't last for long as he felt he was deriving way too much enjoyment out of hearing her laugh.

"Alright, now who wins," he said as he withdrew and stood up quickly, so as not to be tickled again. Amy smiled dreamily, knowing exactly what to say.

"You look so adorable when you're overconfident."

She laughed when he grumbled in reply. They both looked around in silence for a while as the memory of their situation came back to mind. Sonic crossed his arms as he looked out the window, of sorts, and noticed the snowstorm growing more intense. He allowed a thoughtful sigh to escape his lips, causing Amy to glace out of the elevator as well.

She was slightly unnerved by the amount of snow wiping around outside. They couldn't see out far, just white frost swirling around in what used to be the parking lot. It now looked like a winter wonderland, which was now playing on the speaker. Amy noticed something else, how dark it was, how cold. In fact, now that she wasn't moving so much she could feel the cold air through her winter dress and stockings. Sonic too, had noticed the cold, figuring the heater in the elevator must have shut off as well.

"As to why they can't turn off that music . . ." he said absent-mindedly.

"Sonic, do you think it's going to get too cold in here?" Amy voiced with concern. Sonic sighed as he watched a thin fog begin to cover the outside glass.

"I don't know, Amy, I don't know."


	3. Chapter 3

The storm came and the light faded. Sonic and Amy had no choice but to make do with what they had. Under a mutual agreement, they decided to save the water and pretzels just in case they were stuck for a while but it took some long, drawn-out negotiation on Sonic's part to persuade Amy into allowing her newly purchased clothing to become the new warm carpet for the elevator floor. While the pink hedgehog pulled her jacket tighter around her body and snuggled down in the cloth to watch the passing storm, Sonic was entertaining himself with how many times he could toss and catch a shoebox. It was becoming quite an intense game.

"How long has it been?" Amy asked absentmindedly; still dully watching the snow flurries. Sonic stopped his contest just long enough to glace at his digital watch; a gift his best friend, Tails, had given him. An attempt to help the blue hedgehog be more punctual, no doubt.

"It's been four hours. It's eight-thirty now," he said, returning to his game. Amy groaned as she rested her head in her hands. The party she was supposed to be attending weighed heavily on her mind. She had never missed a get together with Cream before and, though she knew the young rabbit would certainly understand the circumstances, she felt bad.

"They're probably worried about me?" Amy uttered.

"What?" Sonic asked, unaware of her mental dilemma.

"Cream and Vanilla. I was supposed to be at their house by seven . . ."

"Amy, I'm sure with the storm they not only understand you can't be there, they probably canceled the whole thing. It would be insane if you did show up in a blizzard ready to party," he half chuckled. Amy hadn't even thought about that. For a moment, she felt silly for even worrying about it but then smiled in spite of herself.

"I guess you're right. What was I thinking? Still, I wish I could tell her I'm alright."

"Yeah, if you consider being trapped in an elevator _alright_ ," Sonic stated, with a mix of humor and bitterness. He glanced over at her and immediately felt guilty for the statement. Her gaze was downcast and, in the bit of light they did have, he could see the tears well up. For an instant, the thought 'Why does she have to be so sensitive?' flashed through his mind, but it was quickly struck down by the respect he had for her.

"I'm sorry, Sonic. If I hadn't wanted all this junk!" she exclaimed, emphasizing her point by sitting up and looking around, "we wouldn't be in here. We'd be at home, enjoying the fire instead of freezing and . . . and . . ."

But before she could get too worked up, Sonic placed the shoebox down, stoop up, and came to sit down beside her.

"It's not you I blame, Amy. It's the over-commercializing of the Christmas holiday that I see as the real enemy here," he said with such a straight face Amy had to take a moment to make sure he was joking.

"How can you be like that? Joking about this? I thought you hated it in here?" she asked, tears fading.

"I do, but it's not like griping about it is gonna change it. Besides, at least, I get someone to pester. Could be trapped in here by myself? That would be scary," he grinned. Amy couldn't help but smile back. That grin of his was contagious and so was his carefree attitude. She didn't know why but because Sonic wasn't worried her cares melted away.

"Well, since I won't be going to that party," Amy said as she leaned over and grabbed one of her bags. Pulling out a box of Christmas cookies, she smiled while Sonic scoffed.

"I see, holding out on the good stuff while I try to preserve a few stale pretzels," he said while crossing his arms in mock offense.

"No. I was just waiting for the right moment," she reasoned, tearing into the package, "and since I'm starving, now is the time."

"Well put," Sonic agreed as he and Amy greedily took from the box of delicious buttermilk, sugar cookies. After eating their fill and saving the rest for later, Amy stretched a bit and snuggled back down considerably closer to her blue hero which didn't go unnoticed. Sonic stretched too and moved away from the pink hedgehog. Amy grunted.

"Why do you always do that?"

"Do what?"

"You know what."

"No, I don't."

Amy glared at him and wondered why she even bothered. Why was it taking so long to earn the physical affections of her desire?

It had been three years of being just an obsessed fan of his heroics moving to four years of being close friends and allies. Now, it's been a year of awkward romantic feelings, but it felt like square one again. Amy didn't know why she remained so loyal to her feelings for Sonic for so long, but it was starting to wear down on her. No intimate hugs or stolen kisses, or even an _I love you_ from Sonic since she laid eyes on him.

Why did she do this to herself? Why did she put up with his indecision for so long? She knew the answer, of course, but it still didn't make it any easier. By all means, it looked as if she were being strung along. But she loved the way he smiled at her, the way he tenderly took her by the hand at times, tiny gifts of freshly picked flowers and . . . oh, how she was a sucker for those . . .

"Amy?"

. . . big green eyes. What she was unaware of was that Sonic admired her green eyes just as much. He wanted to share intimate hugs with her, steal tender kisses and say the three words, _I love you_ , that burned within him but he was discouraged. Of what, he wasn't sure. He knew he wouldn't be rejected or humiliated by her and the feelings of warmth and admiration were delightfully mutual but still, he pushed it away. And, the harder he pushed down these strong emotions the more intensely they shoved back.

'Why can't I just . . .' he thought, feeling like crying in frustration; sobbing out his confusion, but, instead of weeping, he just smiled and reluctantly turned his gaze back out the window.

"Sonic? What were you going to say?"

The blue hedgehog thought about the question, debating over what he was going to reveal and what he thought he should reveal. It would be really easy to tell her he wasn't going to say anything, but his slight hesitation now said otherwise. Finally, he decided what _the hey_. Later he could blame it on being stuck in the elevator anyway, right?

"Yeah. You know, Ames, I do care . . ." he said slowly, thankful for the dim lighting as a blush slowly colored his checks.

'Why was this so hard' he thought to himself as he tried to come up with what to say.

"I know you do, Sonic, but sometimes I wish you would show me how much you care," Amy said gently, catching him off guard. His words were frozen in his throat; his tongue paralyzed. He had no clue what he was doing. No fancy romantic phrases or warm loving gestures. The reason he never acted on romantic impulses was for the simple fact he didn't know how to act. Sure he had seen a few movies and even jokingly flirted with ladies on occasion, but a real, serious loving relationship gave him the chills. Amy just deserved much better than him, he supposed . . . but then . . . no.

"Look, Amy, it's getting late and I don't think anyone else is awake. Maybe we should try and get some sleep too," Sonic yawned, faking another stretch and standing up. Amy frowned.

"It's like, what? Nine o'clock?" she said skeptically.

"So, it's not like we're doing anything else."

"Yeah, we are. We're talking."

"Oh, right," Sonic responded sarcastically.

"You don't have to be rude about it."

"Fine. I'm sorry. Can we please just go to sleep now?" he sighed as he walked over to a corner of the elevator and laid down. Amy shivered a bit from the lack of Sonic's warmth, both physically and emotionally. It really was creepy in the elevator with the storm howling outside and the darkness of the small space. She felt like she was in a cave which was a far cry from her cozy apartment and warm bed.

"Sonic?"

She could see him lift his head due to his eyes shining in the dim lighting there was.

"I'm kind of scared."

Sonic could tell she really was and was taken back by her honesty at showing such emotions. How she could be so open with her feelings was a mystery to him, but he admired her courage greatly. He immediately got up and began moving the empty shopping bags over to her side of the window, blocking out the stormy scene outside with paper pictures of holly and ornaments.

"Just imagine you're at home, Amy," he said soothingly. Amy smiled up at him even though he probably couldn't tell.

'He is so sweet, sometimes,' she thought as he continued by bringing some more of the clothing items to her.

"Better?"

"Thank you."

"No prob," he winked as he went back to his side.

"But ya know, I'm not that tired."

"What? After all this shopping, I'm exhausted," Sonic exasperated as he collapsed on a jacket.

"Fine, fine," Amy sighed as she rolled over, pretending to doze. The elevator music was still playing, but it was at a dull murmur now. She could hear the moaning of the metal around her as the storm blew outside. But, over and above all this noise, she could hear her companion's breathing becoming slow and rhythmic.

"He's really asleep?" she whispered to herself. She knew the supersonic hero slept, but it was still hard to believe that such a high energy guy could slip off so easily into dreamland. Apart of her wanted to go over and snuggle right up next to him but the more reasonable part of her knew that wasn't right somehow. But, the more she watched him the harder it was to fight the temptation; the harder her reasonable side had to fight. Finally, she saw an excuse to get closer; Sonic was shivering a bit.

"I'll just go and cover him up," she smiled, happy she could appease her logical side with this fact. She slowly and quietly got to her hands and knees, shuffled over to the sleeping form, and watched him snore softly for a moment. She smiled widely, enjoying his peaceful slumber. Grabbing another jacket off the floor she covered him up which proved to be a mistake as the blue hedgehog jumped, startled by the sudden weight. Amy in turn screamed at the sudden movement.

"What are you doing?" he asked sitting up.

"I'm sorry, I was just covering you up," she said after a moment of calming down. Sonic looked at the jacket and shook his head in bemusement. What was going on?

"Uh, thanks, I guess."

"I didn't mean to wake you . . ."

"It's okay, Am. . ."

"I was just making sure you were alright."

"I'm fine, I can see that . . ."

"I'm so sorry. . ."

"Amy?"

"I guess I should . . . uh . . . go back over there."

"Amy?"

The pink hedgehog finally realized Sonic wasn't upset and fell silent.

"It's okay. Thanks. Now, do I need to tuck you back in or can you handle it by yourself?"

Amy could tell he was joking but in a way it hurt.

"Well, you're welcome. I can manage, thanks," she huffed. Sonic rolled his eyes and laid his head back down, listening as she did the same. However, after a while, a slight frown developed on his face.

'Why did I say that? It's not like she was hurting anything.'

"I'm sorry, Amy. Amy?"

But it was too late for apologies that night as she had finally fallen asleep. Sonic sighed and allowed the Christmas carols to lull him back to sleep as well.

**_Christmas Night_ **

The sight of powdery, white snow swishing up into brilliant trials in the night sky was beautiful to behold indeed. However, the one creating such a dazzling display was unable to see it as he raced through the streets on such a perfect Christmas night. His destination was clear as he made his way down roads and sidewalks, parks and alleys; the cold wind whipping at his muzzle. He didn't mind though because for the past three days he hadn't even been afforded the simple pleasure of running free.

Freedom. It was not something this young male took lightly but something he gave generously. Wherever there was danger, oppression, or just a lousy day he was there giving his time, talent, and heart of gold to complete strangers for the sake of doing what was right.

However, tonight, he was interested in doing something he had never done before.

There had always been flaws in his character and he suspected he would struggle with them for the rest of his life such as his recklessness, impatience, and ego.

But tonight he wanted to confront one of these flaws and put it in its place once and for all.

His greatest setback, his fear, was at the same time his strangest. For someone who constantly put his life on the line for others and relied on close friends to do the same, it would appear this fear of his didn't make any sense. But for those who knew him well or, more correctly, for her who knew him best, it was a lonely life of being the hero.

Sonic the Hedgehog was running that Christmas night not to fight and dash away as he had done so many times before but to give in and fall. Not to be proud and strong but to be humble and weak; honest and vulnerable and it scared him to death. He didn't know what was going to happen but he was determined to find out this time.

What did it mean to love and be loved?


	4. Chapter 4

_December 24_

Amy opened her eyes and yawned, regretting every moment of having slept on the hard floor of the elevator. It wasn't very warm either. In fact, it was downright freezing. She shivered a bit as her body adjusted to the temperature. She looked over the shopping bags that had been placed there to block the view and saw the earth below was blanketed in white. Everything was buried by what looked to be at least eight feet of snow. All she could see were the tips of road signs and streetlamps while people crawled about in the blizzard's aftermath or climbed on top of their roofs to scope out the damage.

"At least, the storm's over," she voiced before hearing a soft grunt from above. When she looked up she was shocked by what she saw, but soon, her surprise gave way to fits of laughter. Somehow, Sonic had managed to get his feet caught in the two inches of space between the two light fixtures and was hanging upside down from the ceiling, wiggling about while trying to remain quiet so as not to wake her to his embarrassing situation.

"Don't even ask," he muttered in vain as Amy just couldn't help herself.

"How did you get up there?" she laughed, standing up to aid him.

"I told you not to ask," he grunted as he tried to reach up and undo himself from the predicament.

"Alright, but at least let me help you," she said, finding it humorous to see Sonic turn red. Served him right for the way he behaved last night. In fact . . . a particularly impish grin spread across her muzzle which didn't go unnoticed by Sonic.

"What are you doing?" he asked, fear replacing humiliation. Amy didn't answer but, instead, poised her fingers for a tickle attack.

"NO! Don't you dare!" Sonic exclaimed, but it was too late as the pink hedgehog struck with intense force. She swore she had never heard Sonic laugh or, maybe, shriek so loud before. She relinquished her assault and smirked. Sonic frowned, which actually looked like a smile to Amy. She began to circle him.

"Now, really, why did you . . . or how did you get up there?" she said walking around him, inspecting his feet in particular. Sonic's frown deepened but he sighed and finally gave in.

"I was trying to see if there was an escape hatch up here."

"Oh. Is there?" she asked as she took her scarf off and pulled a shoe from a nearby bag.

"Well, I don't really know. I think there is but I can't get past these stupid lights," he ranted as he made another feeble attempt at grabbing for his feet. Unfortunately, the hot surface of the bulbs prevented him from hanging on long. Amy tied the shoe to the scarf and with one quick toss and a few tugs, was able to get the shoe wedged in between the fixture. Sonic blinked a few times, obviously, confused by her actions.

"Grab onto it and pull yourself up. Then you can get your feet out," she directed with a smug smile, quite proud of herself for coming up with such a clever tool. The blue hedgehog rolled his eyes, again, looking kind of funny from Amy's point of view, but did what he was told and was able to free himself much to his annoyance.

"See, it worked. You didn't think it would."

"Whatever, Amy, it wasn't that great . . ."

Just then, the shoe fell out of place and bonked the pink hedgehog right on the head.

"It was brilliant," Sonic chuckled. Amy gave him a death glare, which, to her credit, scared the living daylights out of him.

"Okay, I'm joking; just joking."

"It's always _just joking_ with you," she gripped, rubbing the top of her head. Sonic brushed himself off and went over to the window quickly, both to see what was out there and to avoid eye contact with his companion.

"Wonder if we should take another crack at it?" he pondered.

"What do you mean?" Amy asked coming up next to him. The blue hedgehog was a bit put off by how much he was enjoying her body heat next to him.

"Oh, uh, if we can get out of here," Sonic stated, moving away to pace along the edges of the elevator.

"Well, maybe we can try calling for help again," Amy suggested, joining in behind him. Sonic stopped. He turned to face her with a thoughtful expression.

"Yeah, let's try that, but, let's do it a little differently. We can try and get people's attention from the outside."

He made his way back over to the aquarium wall and began waving down at what he hoped was someone below looking up.

"Hey!"

"Sonic, I think that's a street lamp," Amy injected. Sonic peered out intent on the figure.

"How do you know?"

"Well, they're not moving."

"Guess you're right," he agreed, seeing the figure was, indeed, quite stationary. He sighed but continued to search for someone that might see them and their plight. However, all there was to be seen was snow and ice covering everything and his own desperate reflection in the glass. He was actually shocked by his appearance. Red eyes, messy fur, and a deep frown; so unlike him. He smiled just to offset the depressing sight but was rewarded with a growl in his stomach.

"I'm hungry too," Amy stated. Sonic's frown returned as he laid a hand on his noisy tummy. They only had pretzels, sugar cookies, and water; nothing which sounded too appetizing for a breakfast meal. To be honest, Sonic thought someone would have found them by now; it was dawn. He had woken up that morning disappointed and cold, not to mention restless. He was glad Amy was still asleep as he had practically been pinging off the walls earlier. At least, he got most of it out of his system. This was, by far, one of the most nerve-wracking experiences he had ever had the chance to be in. Not knowing when they would be found or even if they would be found. He looked down at Amy and could see the same worry in her eyes and . . . it bothered him.

"Let's eat some of the pretzels. You know, before they get any staler or something," he laughed quietly. Amy could tell he was distressed but decided not to chase that line of thought.

"Yeah, you're probably right."

She trod over some bags and picked up the pretzels that were still wrapped up tight in their paper sack. A brief smile spread across her lips as she remembered the events of yesterday before they got trapped. It was a quick memory of her asking him to help her shop and him giving her his big grin and saying 'sure why not'. But that memory was short-lived as she shivered a bit from the cold confinement of this elevator. A deep frown settled on her features.

How could this happen and so close to Christmas? It was Christmas Eve now, for crying out loud, and instead of being at home preparing for the holiday, she was here, freezing to death.

"Amy, are you okay?" Sonic asked, concern evident in his voice. Amy was startled out of her thoughts. She quickly pushed the depressing reflections to the back of her mind and rose up with the bag of pretzels.

"Yeah. Let's eat," she replied opening the bag. Sonic nodded as she handed him one.

"It's a good thing I asked for more, huh?" he said, for the first time making small conversation. Amy smiled at this.

"Not as good as me suggesting water or the cookies?"

"Okay, okay. I have to admit the cookies wear good, but I still wanted a passion fruit juice," he chuckled. Amy grinned and was about to comment on how water was better when she was startled by an almost embarrassing fact. She had to use the bathroom. She wasn't sure how to go about informing her partner she really had to go or how she could do that in here anyway.

'Maybe I can hold it' she thought, not comforted by the fact the last time she went was yesterday afternoon. What she was unaware of was the fact Sonic had been pondering the same dilemma as he chewed on his pretzel. Though he didn't really have to go that bad, it was still a question in mind. How much longer did they have to stay in here until someone found them?

"Anyway, Sonic, how much longer do you think we'll be in here?" Amy said, trying to ignore the feeling in her bladder.

"Well . . ." Sonic wolfed down the rest of his food and made his way over to the doors. They had decided to leave them closed yesterday to conserve heat, but seeing as it was subzero anyhow . . .

"Maybe we can try yelling again or, at least, bang on the wall. See if anyone hears."

Amy closed her eyes in frustration. Next to being captured by Eggman, this had to be the most annoying, upsetting thing that's happened to her. All the discouragement of this situation was coming back down on her with a weight too much for her to bear. Christmas Eve was ruined. Coldness clung to her fur, hunger ravaged her stomach, being trapped drove her senses into a calamity, and having to use the bathroom caused an urgency; an impulse to act now.

"Sonic!" she said loudly. He looked at her just as a rock version of Jingle Bells began to play over the speaker. She took out her hammer and charged the door. Sonic zipped out of the way, shocked by her reaction. She banged the doors open and proceeded to hit the wall with such a force, the wall completely absorbed the blow. They could feel the shaft quiver with the swing along with the whining of the cables above.

"What are you doing!?" Sonic shouted as he regained himself. Amy glared.

"I'm trying to get us out of here!" she yelled.

"Well, you're going to end up killing us instead!" he yelled back, feeling a bit defensive, but he wished he hadn't as Amy's face went red with anger, "Look, Amy, I'm . . ."

"It's better than what you're doing!" she barked. Sonic was taken back. He could feel his own temper flare and tried to keep it under control, but . . .

"You are Sonic the Hedgehog and you can't even get us out of a broken elevator," she screamed. However, even though it felt good to shout and release the frustration, she lost the release as she watched his face. The expression was anger, no question about it, but it was clearly born out of hurt. He turned his back on her, facing the wall with . . . genuine pain. Though this seemed trivial and even childish, the belief Amy had always trusted he could do anything was always rooted in him, and to hear her say that really messed him up inside. Maybe it was from being stuck in here too long, or the holiday stress, but it hit a nerve deep down. It was stupid he knew; it had to be stupid, but he was still having to fight back tears. Was her opinion that important to him?

Yes, it was.

Amy let out a cry of aspiration. She didn't want to make everything worse. She just couldn't take it anymore. She looked around at all the things that lined the floor, things that didn't even matter anymore. She felt guilty. After all, it was herself that had wanted to go shopping and it was her idea to use the elevator. Here was her hero, her best friend, her love of so many years trying to help her and trying his best and she was . . .

"Sonic, I'm sorry. This is my fault. And you're right, losing my temper isn't getting us out of here," Amy said quietly allowing the hammer to disappear, "It's just that, I wanted this to be a good Christmas and . . ."

Without turning around, Sonic knew Amy was crying, and again it broke him up. Jeez, they must be going crazy or something but the tears that were held in his eyes began to spill as he listened to her.

"Sonic, please, don't be angry. Just I'm tired and cold and I don't think anyone knows we're in here and . . ."

A sob caught in her throat and it was then she knew why she was being so emotional.

"I'm scared," she voiced as more of a realization than a statement. This experience was bringing back more than just the frightening times of her youth spent with a mad scientist, it went further. Things she rarely allowed herself to think about.

Sonic wanted to respond but he couldn't bring the words up. Why was this so difficult for him? Was he that much of an emotional coward? What was he scared of?

He glanced back a bit to see Amy had covered her face with her hands, crying silently. He turned around fully, forgetting his tears and embarrassment for a moment, but as he watched her sink down to her knees the feeling of awkwardness hit him. Should he say something, apologize maybe?

Deep down, he knew what to do. It was the same leading that helped him in most dangerous situations, he just never thought that deep knowing could help with . . . well, relationships. He finally decided to heed it.

He got down on his knees in front of her and drew her crying form into a safe, secure embrace. Amy without hesitation wrapped her arms around him as if she were a child seeking comfort from their parent. For Amy this was a natural reaction, for Sonic it was a shock. He rarely ever received hugs willingly and he even more rarely gave them. He never really knew why. Sure, he would ruffle Tails' hair, smile and wink, grin with a thumbs up at people but hug; not often. Now, he was giving Amy an embrace that neither he nor she would forget. He allowed her to cry on him for a while before she slowly let go.

Amy smiled sheepishly, feeling a little foolish. But, at the same time, her eyes betrayed pleasant surprise at Sonic's hug. She looked up at him and could see that he too was smiling; warmly. However, she also noticed the dry tear stains around his eyes and was instantly reminded of her words.

"Sonic, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean it . . ." she began.

"No, Amy, it's okay. You're right," he laughed self-doubtingly. Amy was alarmed. What was he saying?

"I should be able to get us out of here and . . ."

"No, Sonic, really I didn't mean it like that, please, let me . . ."

"Amy, really? You have to admit, it is kind of pathetic," he stood up slowly.

"Sonic, listen. I can't get through that wall either. It's not about that anyway . . ."

"Look, Ames, I really appreciate it, but it's true. I must be getting slow or something . . ."

"Sonic, I was just upset," Amy tried to interject. The only reason she snapped at him was that she had to go to the bathroom, not because of some actual doubt in her hero's abilities, but he wasn't listening.

"Maybe if I wasn't so cold or maybe it's the water. I don't know," Sonic thought aloud, troubled by the fact he couldn't escape.

"Sonic . . ."

"If only I had a chaos emerald or maybe . . ."

"Sonic, I just need . . ."

". . . more room to get up speed, then I could break down . . ."

"Sonic, I just have to pee!"

That got the blue hedgehog's attention as he turned to look at her with an _excuse me_ expression. Amy blushed, but at least she had his attention.

"I just have to go to the bathroom real bad, that's all."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

They both stood in awkward silence until Sonic coughed a few times.

"Well, what are we going to do?" Amy asked, a bit impatiently.

"Oh, yeah, well . . . I could close my eyes and you could go down the shaft," he suggested hastily. Amy looked at him aghast.

"I'm not doing that. What if it short-circuits the elevator or something. That's just gross."

"So? I don't know. The elevator is out of power, it can't short circuit anyway."

"Well, it's still nasty. Someone will have to clean it up," she protested. Sonic rolled his eyes but agreed that would be very unpleasant. He looked around and eyed the water bottles. Amy followed his line of sight and frowned.

"I don't think so, Sonic. One, we need that water and, two, what you do and what I do are two very different things."

Sonic chuckled a bit, albeit nervously, and went to looking around again. Then he remembered something.

"Hey didn't you buy a jar or something?" he asked. Amy's face lit up.

"Yes, the candle holder," she went to digging through one of the bags labeled with the Northern Candle Company logo. With a face of triumph, she pulled out a beautifully decorated glass container; a little snowflake ribbon tied to the top. She soon frowned though.

"What's wrong?" Sonic questioned. Amy thought about her response and couldn't help but smile.

"I thought it was so artistic in the store. I was going to put a neat candle in it I found last week. Now, I'm going to . . . well, you know . . ."

Sonic laughed.

"Yeah, life's funny that way."

Amy motioned for him to turn around and close his eyes. Sonic did as he was asked.

"Cover your ears too," Amy ordered.

"What? Why?"

"Because . . . just do it, please."

Sonic sighed and bent his ears back. After relieving herself Amy set the jar in a corner and covered it up with one of the bags.

"Are you done yet?" Sonic called, his ears still curled down, eyes shut. Amy smirked, walked quietly over, and stood in front of him. She smiled at how cute he looked with his eyes closed and his ears back. So cute in fact that she stretched up and gave him a kiss on the cheek. His eyes went wide as his ears sprang up. Amy laughed as he looked at her. He had to resist the urge to bring a hand to the affected area. He was about to respond when both hedgehogs were startled by a voice above them.

"Levi, I think it's this one!"

The muffled voice came from the top of the shaft.

"Alex said he saw them go into this one; number 3B"

"Makes sense, that's where the customers said they kept hearing the banging."

"Hello, is there someone in the elevator?" Jake shouted down the shaft in the service room. He listened intently along with the other mall associates, Levi and Gary. Sonic and Amy practically jumped for joy at the sound of other people. Amy decided to shout up this time, knowing full well she had a nice strong, healthy voice.

"HEY! We need help getting out of here!"

Sonic pinned his ears back as did the attendants.

"Gary, get onto maintenance. Tell them we have a situation here. Better yet, call Cory. He'll come out here road closer or not. We got to get those people out of there."


	5. Chapter 5

This December would always be remembered as the coldest and most cramped month of the year for Sonic and Amy. Nonetheless, with a few encouraging words from the mall associates, a bit of relief from the winter chill thanks to the elevator heaters being turned back on, and a loud, wild celebratory dance performed by the two entrapped hedgehogs to the song Joy to the World, it seemed their ordeal was finally coming to a close. They were definitely moving on up; or down, as the case would be.

"Yay! I can't wait!" Amy squealed as she thought about what she would do once they got out of this elevator. There was still time to wrap gifts and call friends, provided the telephone lines were still up; maybe take her annual trip to the children's hospital down the road . . . her face paled. The hospital; she was mortified. How could she be so thoughtless? The children she visited every Christmas Eve since moving to this town . . . how could she forget about that; about them?

"Yeah, when I get out of here I'm going for a nice, long jog," Sonic smiled as he thought about getting a chance to stretch his legs. With a quick clip of his heels, he felt like he was free already until he caught the expression of distress on his partner's face.

"Oh, Sonic," Amy nearly cried as she too looked up to match his gaze. Sonic could feel heat work its way into his cheeks as he looked into her eyes but, with a quick turn of his head, he was back in control.

"What's wrong, Amy?" he asked turning back to face her. He was startled by the tears developing in her eyes. What did he do? What was going on? What was it with her sudden mood shifts?

"Sonic, how could I be such a horrible person? I forgot all about my visit. I do it every year; how could I forget?" she wept.

"But, Amy, I thought we said Cream wouldn't mind if you didn't show up," he said, thoroughly baffled as to why she was freaking out over this, "You're not a horrible person."

"Yes, I am! I don't mean Cream's party. I mean the Elizabeth Choe's Children's Hospital. I visit them every Christmas Eve and here I am forgetting all about them, Sonic," she stated with such conviction. Now, it was a bit clearer to him. He had no idea Amy had such a charitable tradition in place.

"Amy, that's not your fault. We're stuck in an elevator for crying out loud! It's hard enough to just remember your sanity in here. Anyway, don't worry about it. You remembered now, didn't you?" he reasoned. Amy nodded but still allowed an exasperated sigh to escape. Without thinking, Sonic spoke up.

"And when we get out of here we'll go visit them."

"You mean it? You'll come with me?"

"Uh," the blue hedgehog stalled. He really hadn't thought his reply through, but it was for a good cause and it was making her happy, so, what the heck.

"Sure, why not."

Amy beamed as she ran over and gave him a sizable hug around the neck. Sonic had to brace himself on the wall, trying not to fall over.

"Thank you so much, Sonic! The kids will love you for it! Thank you, thank you!" she chirped happily. Sonic placed a hand on her back gently and smiled to himself. If he didn't know better, he would have thought she planned it this way, but, to be honest, the embrace was nice. It was a different feeling than usual. It felt natural, maybe because he was just too tired to feel awkward and put off by it, or maybe because he really enjoyed making her smile. For whatever reason, a moment was spent lost in the embrace for both of them until Amy pulled back a bit and looked up at her sweetheart. Sonic looked away quickly, feeling a blush come over his muzzle. Before he could back off, Amy, with her own blush, did so first and took his hands in hers.

"Sonic," she said quietly; deliberately, "You know I really love you, right?"

Both gave each other their full attention but they remained in silence. Both hedgehogs sighed inwardly.

Amy just couldn't understand his subdued demeanor while Sonic wondered just the opposite about her. All the same, deep down, Amy had to admit part of his charm and appeal to her was his hard to read nature. She knew he loved her and all the sweeter it would be when he finally showed it freely. For him, Amy's honest love for him with no fear of the results was captivating, if not overwhelming at times. He knew this had to be . . . something.

Oh, who was he fooling? It was love but what was he supposed to do with it? What was he supposed to do with this?!

Usually, he would be half-way down the road before any of this sort of conversation came up. But he wasn't and he should say something, but he couldn't.

'She loves me', he thought; that he could agree on. Without further hesitation Sonic nodded, finding it even harder to find his voice.

Amy beamed. For once, he actually responded to such a question and he was being serious; she could tell in his eyes. Then it hit her. He was completely focused on her, nothing else, just her. And, for the first time in a long time, she lost her confidence in the fact he could ever possibly love her back. Her gaze fell downward and her smile turned into a worried frown. She wanted to ask if he really cared about her but she was scared of the answer.

What if it was no? Her mind began racing through all the potential scenarios of his answer. What had all the evidence of their past lead to? All pointed to was a definite . . . maybe; a never-ending possibility. Was maybe what she really wanted to hear? No, no it wasn't. Right now, her heart was no longer in maybes; it was yes or no; had to be yes or no; no maybes; not anymore.

Sonic had his own array of thoughts as he watched her eyes turn downcast. For him, this was it. Either he seriously took his relationship with Amy to the next level or he let her go. He could no longer be uncertain. Seeing Amy lose her confidence, her spirit, on account of his indecisiveness made him feel sick. It was something he wasn't going to let happen . . . he wouldn't let this continue.

"Amy, I know. I know you love me," he acknowledged with his eyes shut tightly. Amy's head immediately shot up at the sound of his voice. This was the first time she had ever heard love and her name come from this man's mouth in the same sentence. She also noticed his hands were shaking in hers and his eyes were pinched as if he were scared to see what was happening. Sonic was shocked at his own behavior, just trying to pull it together.

What was so hard about saying 'I love you'? That's the choice he wanted but his mouth was dry, his throat tight, and he thanked the Lord he was wearing gloves so Amy wouldn't feel his sweaty palms.

"Sonic," Amy said softly. He jumped, not realizing how lost in thought he was. Amy smiled as his eyes opened. She knew her answer was on the verge of coming and that she would be overjoyed when she heard it. Now, she just needed to help draw it out.

"You're thinking too hard about it," she said simply. Sonic blinked at her a few times but smiled as Amy's smile deepened . . .

"Hey, Folks!?"

This time both hedgehogs jerked, dropping their hands at the sudden loud voice. Amy looked to Sonic, half expecting to see an expression of relief on his face at the interruption, but she was surprised to find irritation instead.

"Yes!?" Sonic yelled back before he looked back at her, "Just when it was at the good part, right?"

Amy chuckled as he rolled his eyes. The first time he was actually starting to become comfortable with the whole romantic situation, which she was liking, by the way, and maintenance had to cut in.

"Help is on the way, but it probably won't be here for another hour. Even then, Cory says it will probably take a couple of hours to get y'all out safely."

Both hedgehogs sighed.

"Well, whatcha gonna do? Thanks, buddy, that'll be fine! I think we have enough food and water to last a few more hours!" Sonic shouted back up.

"All right, you sure you guys are okay down there? Don't need anything do you?"

"You could shut off that elevator music before it drives us nuts!" Amy suggested in good humor. They could hear the associate laugh.

"Believe me, I would if I could. Things on a locked system; whole mall's full of the noise; about to drive everyone crazy! It's pretty bad out there though. We're lucky to still have power at all."

"Thanks anyway, man. We'll be fine. Just don't forget about us, okay?" Sonic said jokingly as he winked at Amy.

"I'll try not to. Bye, folks."

"Well, seeing as we'll be here a little longer, you want to set up camp again?" Amy asked as she bent down and grabbed a shopping bag with a grin. After unpacking, digging into a few more sugar cookies, and sipping some water, late morning found Sonic and Amy sitting comfortably in front of the panoramic window they had in the elevator. Their conversation's ebb-and-flow was lacking between them. Amy debated on whether to go back to their original topic or let it go. In fact, why hadn't he brought it back up? She looked up at him to see his gaze was lost in the wintry scene ahead. Maybe she shouldn't . . . but, then, she needed to know.

Sonic was unaware of the battle within Amy as he was wrestling with his own feelings. To be honest, he'd lost a bit of his nerve. He didn't know what he felt now. This wasn't what took place on television or in movies. Other couples would be kissing, hugging, calling each other silly pet-names, and talking in mushy undertones. He just didn't have that in him. He could fake it he guessed but that was no good for Amy. Whatever it was he was feeling, he wanted it to be genuine, not gloss; not a sham. It had to be sincere; for her.

Amy wanted something real and Sonic wanted to provide something real.

She had learned a lot about what not to do with relationships by way of loving Sonic; years of basically being a fanatic stalker had that effect. She almost laughed at how ridiculous it was now; not the following-her-heart-and-loving-him-despite-all-else, part; she found that trait admirable in herself. But, thinking she could force him into loving her back, that was not only absurd but wrong. The schemes, plans, and intentions she came up with were selfish back then, to say the least. Now, she wanted to be loved because she really was not because she tricked, coerced, or manipulated him into doing so.

She had slowly, but surely, learned through the years that she needed to love herself as well. In the past, it had been difficult for her to see any value or worth in who she was apart from others. She figured out one day that the real reason she wanted Sonic to love her was so she could feel like something special; not just an awkward little girl. That's when she had done some soul-searching, some painful self-reflection, knowing this attitude wasn't right. Even though it was hard, she had put some distance between herself and Sonic. It had done her a world of good and now that she thought back, she recalled those reflections . . . she could even quote some of the words she wrote in her journal.

_My winds are unsure at all times. They're confused because there are so many shouting, whispering different answers; different questions. They could, but don't agree. They know so much but understand so little. My winds change blowing so hard and bitter cold to hot and dry gasps steaming my face. I sometimes try to follow their direction but they wouldn't lead me. I speak, they hear, but don't listen and I'm lost again. I don't know, I feel little, I don't really matter, so I have to make myself matter. I have to jump higher, reach further, smile greater, laugh harder; I have to go longer if I want to compete with the trees, the birds, the sky. The winds seem to favor them, agreeing to make them rulers of the air. I just want that freedom, that special connection. But I'm afraid it's not for me, that's my life. I try, but it kicks me down, forgets I'm still there, and runs over my dreams and desires thoughtlessly. Your beloved wind reminds me of my failure._

Wait; had she said 'your wind'? Yes, that was it.

Sonic glanced down at Amy who was by now staring out the window with a far-off look, deep in thought. He mulled over the many approaches he could take but none seemed to make any sense. He closed his eyes as "What Child is This" played over the speaker; a flute and violin solo. This particular carol always brought back memories for him, ones he didn't necessarily want to remember but did anyhow. Times of being alone, not just by himself, but the feeling of loneliness. It made him think about his life.

He loved his freedom or, more accurately put, his exemption. He didn't even have employment; just odd jobs that earned him enough money to do what he wanted to do. Besides, being a hero to the world usually left the tab paid by someone else. It was fun, it was fast, it was free; so, why did he feel so tired and weary of it; so vacant. Sonic thought this was all he ever wanted, but here recently, it wasn't. It's why he had started getting closer to Amy, but it wasn't easy; it was foreign to him. He had friends all over the planet, but he never stayed in one spot long enough to enjoy the fact. He was a loner by nature, or, maybe, it was taught to him . . .

Then, it struck him. This song, these emotions, this day . . . He was overwhelmed by a flashback; the memory. He would have joked in comparing himself to Shadow if the remembrance wasn't so painful. He tried forcing the memory back to the recesses of his mind but it kept bubbling back up.

"Sonic, tell me about it?" Amy asked suddenly, causing him to almost leap out of his fur. She was looking up at him with concern and interest.

"What? What are you talking about?" he asked as his face echoed the confused panic he was in. He knew she couldn't read minds, but it sure seemed like it.

"The wind," she said.

"Are you serious? What do you mean the wind?" Sonic questioned, now with even more confusion. Amy sighed. She really didn't know why she was asking other than her comment about your wind. It had to be a comparison to Sonic, didn't it? Judging by her partner's puzzled face, she should quit, but curiosity was getting the better of her.

"Describe it to me. I don't know. I just want to know what you think about the wind."

"Amy, I don't think it will . . ."

"Please."

Sonic panicked inside. These memories, these feelings, this question; it was just too much. He didn't know how to respond or if he should respond. Maybe he could just come up with something, something other than what he was thinking about. She wouldn't understand.

"Well, it's nice and breezy. Sometimes too hot or cold. Hear it's strong in Chicago," he chuckled halfheartedly.

"No, Sonic, seriously what is she to you?" Amy replied gently but firmly. Sonic froze. Maybe she could read minds. This was crazy. How could she know about . . .? He needed to get a grip. She didn't know. Amy was just personifying the wind, like . . . he did. This was too close for him, but, then, he had wanted to take a step closer to her, hadn't he? Be real.

Amy noticed he paled under his fur and briefly thought to herself this was further than she wanted to go, or was it? It didn't matter; it was hurting him so it wasn't worth it, right?

"Sonic, sorry. Just forget it," she apologized looking away slightly.

"No, Amy."

She looked back up at him surprised.

"I want to tell you. Just . . . give me a minute."

Amy nodded and waited patiently as she watched Sonic shut his eyes. He drew in a deep breath and ran the short pep talk of _here goes nothing_ before opening his mouth.

"She, uh, whispers; the wind. I don't know if you can hear her? I can, because she's all I have, all I've known is in her whispers and howls," his voice was shaky from nervousness and he kept his eyes closed in fear of his companion's expression but he continued.

"She's like a mother to me; um, not an ideal one, but still a mother, my only mother . . . Neither good nor evil, but always there. Yeah, that's it; she's not good or evil, but constant; a free nothing, always moving."

Amy was shocked, more than shocked, by how poetic he was, how deep this sounded. Sonic never said things like this. Was he just coming up with it or was this something well-rehearsed in his life? Either way, she found tears forming in her eyes as he continued.

"Sometimes her constant motions are comforting. You know, gently caressing my quills on a warm day or making soothing sounds by rustling the dry leaves with her, uh, spirited gestures. But other times, the movements are overwhelming, dismissing, and cold, leaving me with bleak, empty howls that eat up my soul. The wind doesn't care though, doesn't know, doesn't remember, so, it's me who puts meaning to her motions, never her. Heh, it's funny how I consider it a mother and son relationship. I don't know where I came from and no one knows where she's going," he felt quite a bit of pain with that remark. In fact, he was wondering why he was still rambling on. Maybe he should stop now. After all, he didn't want to freak her out, but for some reason, he couldn't stop himself.

"Both of us, free to run endlessly, aimlessly, purposelessly through our lives, at first," he said, feeling the resentment in that statement, "I was too young to understand then. She was just always there. But then one day, I found out that I could control her by using my speed. I could make it loud and fast, swirl and twist, but the wind held a secret I came to realize. She has control over me too. Her motion, it has become apart of me to where I can't live without the feeling, the sound, I can't live without the wind . . . I sound crazy. I'm sorry," he said quickly as he dared a glance over at Amy.

"No, Sonic, that was very powerful. I never thought . . . When did you . . . I mean, well . . ."

"I guess . . . I've never shared that with anyone, Amy. Please, keep it to yourself, okay?" he stated quickly as his face began to heat up. Amy just blinked a few times, causing him to feel even more uncomfortable. Maybe this was a mistake; he shouldn't have said all that. Why did he say any of it, to begin with? He shut his eyes again, missing the pink hedgehog's nod. He tried to come up with an excuse for the monologue, but before he could voice anything, Amy spoke up.

"Well, since you shared all that, let me tell you something about me," she said quietly. Sonic opened his eyes again and could see the hesitation in her features. Now that he thought about it, he was becoming a lot better at guessing her emotional state by her expression.

"You don't have to."

"No, I want to," she smiled. He didn't know why but he smiled back. Maybe it was the comfort of knowing she was going to tell him something to lighten his embarrassment, but deep down it was the feeling of safety and understanding he was getting from her.

"I remember flying a beautiful kite once. I had always dreamed of making a kite as wonderful as this one. Bright baby blue with rich violet ribbons for a tail and my name scrolled across it in pink lettering, six-year-old handwriting, of course, that's how old I was. My father and I spent hours on that kite . . . before he got sick. I finished it alone. My mother was too worried about his health to help me, I remember. The day he died . . . I flew that kite hoping I could reach him in heaven if I flew it high enough . . ." Amy paused as a sob caught in her throat. Why was she telling him this? Was it because he had told her something heart-wrenching and she wanted to match it? No, it was because it was important to her and so was Sonic.

Sonic listened intently and his eyes misted over as he caught her pain. Without thought, he scooted closer to her and rested a comforting arm around her shoulder.

"You don't have to continue," he said softly. Amy shook her head.

"I want to. Once, it was in the air I ran as fast as I could to get it higher. Such a silly thought, but at the time it was everything. Just a little higher, daddy, just a little higher. But just as it touched the sky to me, a cruel gust of wind; I'll never forget it. The smell of dead leaves, mildew, and rot filled my nose, and dust flung in my face as the line snapped out of my hands and the kite whistled up and away. I remember yelling . . . 'Bring it back'. I pleaded till I was sick, but the wind never did, just howled in one ear and whispered in the other . . . I looked up to see the kite fly up into the sky and kept watching until it disappeared behind the clouds. "

With that off her chest, Amy began to tear up considerably. She leaned up against Sonic's side and began to cry softly. Sonic squeezed reassuringly. He knew Amy was an orphan, just like him. He didn't know the history of it even though he had known Amy for years now. A part of him regretted that.

"My mother died a year later, they say it was because she was sick, but I know it was from a broken heart," Amy said quietly, "And I was left alone."

"I'm sorry," Sonic said softly, with some pain Amy noted.

"Don't be," she replied with a sniff. She lifted her head a bit to look up at him. He smiled weakly at her and she smiled back. She felt comfort in his small smile and misty eyes. In fact, this moment was worth the two days trapped in an elevator. Sonic couldn't help but share the sentiment, as this was the closest he had ever been to someone both physically and emotionally. Matter of fact, this wasn't so bad; it was nice, but would it last? His previous thoughts of inadequacy and selfishness came back. Amy needed someone who was both caring and secure, not neglectful and reckless. He didn't want to hurt her anymore. He frowned.

"Amy. . . I don't think . . . I don't think I'm what you want," he said quickly, deep down, hoping she would hear it and not respond. No such luck.

"What? What's wrong? Of course, you're all I want," Amy said, backing up bewildered by the sudden outburst.

"I mean. I don't know if what I want is what you want, Amy," he tried thinking of a way to explain as she continued to just stare at him, "I'm like that wind. You . . . you can't be sure . . . what I'm going to do. Here one day, gone the next, it wouldn't work. You . . ."

At first, the pink hedgehog was hurt by what he was saying. What did he mean, it wouldn't work out? How could he do this to her at this time, at this point in their relationship? What did she do? Tears and anger were at the brim until he uttered,

"You deserve better than me."

She didn't know whether to be relieved, shocked, or grieved. It was probably all three.

"Oh, Sonic," she thought for a bit before her reply, "Sonic, if you're the wind then I'm like that kite. You could knock me down to the ground, true . . . but I know you can also lift me up higher then I've ever been."

Sonic sputtered for a moment.

"Amy, how can you say that I've . . . I can't be . . . look how many times I hurt . . ."

"I trust you. I'm certain of that."

"How can you be certain? I'm not even certain! . . ."

"I'm certain because you haven't let me down so far. You didn't let me finish my story. I finally saw the wind did what I couldn't. It got my kite higher once I let go."

Silence hung between them for a minute. Sonic hadn't realized how much he valued her admiration, her trust in him though he didn't even trust himself. He couldn't lose that, not for anything; he couldn't afford to. He blinked a few times to get rid of the moisture that was becoming too familiar and smiled at her.

"Thank you, Amy. You really are something."

"Yeah, you know it," she said jokingly, knowing the mood needed to lighten up a bit. Sonic laughed.

"I thought I was supposed to be the kidder around here."

"What, and let you have all the fun? Not on my watch," she chuckled as he rolled his eyes. Then his eyes brightened.

"So, does that mean you'll follow me to the ends of the earth; rain or shine and all that jazz," he stated, in good humor of course.

"Sonic, I'll always follow you. Like I always have."

"I know you will, Ames, I know. That's why I love you so much."

Both hedgehogs fell into a shocked silence over what was just said. Sonic, because the words had slipped out so effortlessly. Amy, because it was the first time those words had come to her from her sweetheart.

No one moved or even breathed, but tears welled up in Amy's eyes. He sounded so sincere with those words, so real and moving. Hers were not the only tears as Sonic's vision blurred a bit from his own rare tears shed. No sadness in them though; just his heart saying _I told you it wasn't that bad_.


	6. Chapter 6

Both hedgehogs stared at each other, remaining in well-understood silence. They were allowing the moment, this milestone, to soak in and become immortalized in the memories they shared. Then, as if they had just been jolted by a static charge, they became animated, moving around, trying to stand up and talk at the same time.

"Amy, I know how you . . ."

"Sonic, I think that you're . . ."

They both stopped as they got to their feet, attempting to allow the other to finish their statement, but, in their excitement, they began speaking at the same time again.

"You first . . ."

"You first . . ."

"No, you first . . ."

"No, you first . . ."

"Okay, I was going to say . . ."

"Okay, I was . . ."

They stopped again, before chuckling a bit at the situation. Amy was so giddy inside, it was taking every last bit of self-control she could muster to restrain herself from pouncing on her companion with an immense squeeze. Sonic, knowing Amy better than he thought he did, could clearly see that jumping all over him was exactly what she wanted to do. With a comical roll of his eyes, but an enduring smile, he opened his arms wide and invited the embrace.

"Oh, Sonic!" Amy beamed with emotion as she flew forward into a place she had always desired to be since she was a little girl; into the arms of someone who loved her. Grant it, to an outside observer, Sonic's hug looked awkward at best; still needing practice with intimate gestures. He was practically hugging her head until he began moving his arms around, trying to find the right position. Amy didn't really care though as she giggled at his attempts to get it right. To her, Sonic was actually hugging her and that was all aces in her book. She just enjoyed his warmth and presence.

After finally settling comfortably on her mid-back, Sonic looked down at Amy. She still had a smile on her face; her eyes shut gently. He couldn't help but think this was a dream come true for her, but he also felt it might have been for him too. This romantic stuff wasn't so bad. In fact, it wasn't bad at all. It was a pleasant experience sweetened by her trust. It felt good to be loved and it felt right to love back. Sonic closed his eyes as well and rested his head on top of hers. They stayed that way for quite a while, considering the blue hedgehog's tendency of not standing still for too long. No words were exchanged but they found none needed to be.

That was until Amy began thinking of her love's words from earlier. His speech about the wind. She hadn't been comfortable with asking at the time but now she felt more emboldened and she wanted to know.

"When did you come up with that?" she asked with her eyes still closed. Sonic's, however, popped open.

"Come up with what?"

"Your speech? About the wind. It was so poetic. Did you come up with it yourself?"

Sonic blushed and was inwardly glad she had her eyes closed. What he didn't know was Amy could hear his heart racing as she had her head against his chest.

"Well, sort of, yeah. Anyway, you seem to be . . ."

"Hey, you're changing the subject," she interjected, opening her eyes and raising up her head to look up at him. Sonic sighed.

He knew he wasn't getting out of this one. Why had he said all that in the first place? He glanced down at her and sighed again as he saw the entreaty in her eyes.

"Fine, fine. It was back when I was a little guy. I, ah . . . I just always liked the wind because . . . it was the only thing in my life back then. I came up with a song about it, at first; don't even think about asking me to sing it . . . Anyway, I just added onto it throughout the years; you know grabbing a few sayings here, a few holiday card greetings there and soon I had a speech. It really isn't all that great."

"Are you joking? I thought it was sweet, Sonic. Kinda sad, but sweet. And don't worry either. I'm not going to tell anyone, though I think you should write it down, maybe as a song, then, you could sing it."

"You know what, Amy, for you, maybe I will," he smiled just as "Let it Snow" began to play over the speaker. Amy closed her eyes and was about to rest her head back down on his chest when, before she could even utter a surprised gasp, Sonic began waltzing her around the room.

"Wha-what are we doing?" she asked with a bemused smile. But he just winked at her and began singing along.

"Oh, the weather outside is frightful, but the fire is so delightful, and since we've no place to go, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!"

Amy couldn't help but giggle and blush as Sonic sang to her. She'd heard him sing before, but this was the first time he ever sang to her, just for her. So, even though it was a tiny, cluttered elevator with few comforts, she felt like she was in a warmly lit ballroom dancing with her prince. It definitely put a bounce in her step.

"It doesn't show signs of stoppin', and I've brought some corn for poppin'. The lights are turned way down low, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow."

Sonic smiled widely as he watched Amy's eyes twinkle with enchantment. At first, he wasn't sure he could do this. He'd never thought one day he would be dancing Amy Rose around singing a love song of all things, but here he was; her smile giving him the courage to continue on.

"When we finally kiss goodnight," he sang as he leaned over and planted a quick kiss on her forehead, "How I'll hate going out in the storm," he showed by backing away and pretending to shiver. Amy laughed and was delightfully surprised when he hugged her and twirled her around.

"But if you'll really hold me tight, all the way home I'll be warm."

"Oh, the fire is slowly dyin'," Amy began to sing along with him as they swayed together, "And, my dear, we're still good-byin', but as long as you love me so, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow."

Suddenly, the elevator jolted and jittered. Sonic and Amy both yelped at the jerking sensation, then they realized the scenery outside was moving. No, they were moving . . .

"Sonic, we're going down. We're going down!" Amy shouted for joy as she began jumping up and down with Sonic. He could hardly believe his eyes as he saw they were indeed moving downward.

"Hey ya, folks. Cory's here. We got the manual on so you'll be out of there in no time . . ."

They heard the voice from above them grow dimmer as they descended the aquarium shaft. Amy again could not contain her excitement as she pulled away from Sonic and started stuffing things back into her bags and boxes. Sonic laughed as he joined her frenzy to get everything where it belonged. It was a pretty quick process as the pink hedgehog didn't seem to care about the condition of the clothes and stuff as they crammed it all away.

"They're as wrinkled now as they're ever gonna be; nothing a little ironing won't fix," she reasoned as she stuffed the last dress into the last available space of her shopping bag. Sonic chuckled a bit more.

"Sure, if we don't stop again," he smirked just to get a rise out of her. It worked.

"Don't say that. You'll jinx us," she scowled.

"You know my dear, Miss Rose," Sonic began in a fake accent, "I believe not in luck or jinx."

Amy shoved him playfully, seeing as he was joking around now. This somehow reminded her of the children's home and Sonic's promise to come with her on the visit to deliver gifts. Wanting to make sure her companion remembered the same promise she brought it up.

"You're coming with me to the children's home, right?" she asked with all seriousness. She almost sounded doubtful, as if she didn't expect him to really accompany her on this venture at all. Sonic glanced at her incredulously, almost hurt. Of course, he was going with her. He said he would, didn't he?

Then he rolled the thought around in his mind for a minute. It left him ashamed to recall he had let Amy down on some occasions concerning visits and events before. Usually, these were of the romantic date variety, but still, it was enough to create doubt in him now. Not from this point on. He wanted to protect the trust from her and the only way he could do that was to be dependable and. . . committed.

"I won't let you down. Let's go right after this," Sonic said warmly. Amy smiled back just as the elevator doors opened on the ground floor. They were both surprised to see a small crowd gathered around, clapping for them as they exited.

After several hours of being trapped, Sonic and Amy were finally free. The pink hedgehog smiled as some of the people came up to her, willing to help carry a few things. Sonic wasted no time in allowing bystanders to hold some of the bags while he took off and did a quick victory lap around the ground floor, shouting and praising. He also took note that most exits to the mall had been cleared of snow; the sidewalk area anyway. This was absolutely perfect for him.

"Yes! Yes! Yes! We're free! Next time, we take the stairs," he reasoned as he circled back to stand by Amy. She smiled at him, glad to be free at last. She looked at all the smiling faces and the mall around her. It felt good to know she could move around at will again; at least, for a moment.

"Hey, isn't that Sonic the Hedgehog?" someone stated from the crowd.

"Yeah, it is!"

Then it started. People began to bunch in around them, Sonic especially, wanting to speak to the global hero. The excited multitude slowly separated the couple and Sonic watched with annoyance as he saw Amy barely able to hold on to her bags as the same people who offered to help thrust her belongings back at her.

In the midst of all the chaos, one insensitive person shouted, "Why couldn't you get out of an elevator!?"

That did it for Sonic.

"I didn't want to wreck the place," he groused in answer before quickly navigating his way through the crowd back to Amy. He took her and her things up into his arms and zoomed out the newly cleared revolving doors.

"You're just going to leave your fans like that?" Amy asked as they raced through the snow-laden streets, kicking up flurries as they went.

"Why not? They weren't willing to help hold the bags."

"Yeah, but I could have waited . . ."

"But nothing, Amy. There will always be plenty of time to fill out autographs, but we only get one Christmas Eve this year and we got kids to see, am I right?"

Amy smiled. How could she argue with that?

"Let's go to my house first. I need to change," she chirped as Sonic made a sharp turn.

"Sure thing."

It didn't take long for the blue hedgehog to arrive at the woman's apartment complex. It took even less time to run up the stairs to her door. They were both cheerfully surprised to see the power was still on in this part of town; a sign of a good change in fortune, but still not willing to chance the elevator. As he set her down along with her goods, Sonic began to think about what had happened over the course of these two days. He had gone shopping with her and gotten stuck in an elevator with her, which he was still having trouble believing he was free from. Then, after spending hours with her, he finally confessed love to her and now he was going with her to help children in a hospital on Christmas Eve. It was definitely more than he bargained for, seeing as he thought he was just going to grab a chili dog and hang out with Tails this Christmas.

"There you go, Sonic," Amy directed as she unlocked the door and led them in before pointing to a corner of her living room, "You can just set that stuff over there."

She watched him as he did so, astounded by the fact Sonic the Hedgehog was in her home, willingly. With a quick giggle drawing an odd glance from him, Amy thought of something.

"Are you hungry?" she asked as she made her way into the kitchen.

"But I thought you wanted to change to visit the kids."

"I do, but it's four o'clock. We still have plenty of time and I'm starving. You can't tell me you're not hungry."

At her remark, Sonic could hear his stomach agree with a very loud grumble.

"Yeah, I guess. What do you have to eat?"

They agreed upon hot soup, being it was easy to make and filling. Sonic even tried to help, but Amy just ended up chasing him out of the kitchen as he kept trying to add chili ingredients to the pot. While enjoying some short conversation about their ordeal over a late lunch, or early dinner, Amy's mind began racing through how they could do the children's hospital visit. She had already gotten the candy canes and made up the small gift bags but they were still not tied up with their bows and garnished with their cards yet. She also knew she didn't look that great and, she had a hunch, she didn't smell all that great either. Then she checked Sonic over. He didn't appear all that wonderful looking either.

"Sonic? We have to get ready."

He looked up at her from his spot at the table, watching her stand up and make her way out to the living area. He stood up too, slurping the last bit of soup down before following her out.

"What do you need me to do?" he asked as he saw her pull out a large shopping bag from the closest adjoining the hallway to her bedroom.

"Sonic, do you know how to tie bows?"

"Well . . ."

"Great!"

Amy pulled out the contents of the bag to reveal ribbons, cards, and candy canes. Then she ran back to the closet and pulled out more bags with smaller gift sacks inside. She spread it all out on the coffee table and began dictating instructions.

"You just need to take one card and one candy cane and tie them to the gift bags. The pink bags are for little girls, so, use the red ribbon on them while the boys have the blue bags so tie the white ribbon on those. The cards that are green leave aside and I'll finish them. You got all that?" she smiled pleasantly. Sonic blinked away a blank stare.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to freshen up and get ready to go. When I'm done, it's your turn."

Before he could utter another word, she disappeared around a corner and locked herself in the bathroom. He sighed wearily.

"How did I get myself mixed up in this?"

He got started on what she asked for, trying to remember what bow went to what bag and which cards he was supposed to leave out. At bag number five, he finally had a rhyme and reason going, so, being the fastest thing alive, he finished all thirty-something bags in no time and laid the green cards in a nice pile on the table. He could still hear water running.

"Wonder how much longer she'll take?" he voiced aloud, glancing around at her decorated apartment. He smiled at the reefs of holly, strings of ribbons, and clusters of bells. He laughed at the little plastic reindeer poking their heads out from behind the cookie jar in the kitchen. Amy sure loved the trimmings and it showed in the amounts of colors and scents about the room, but he noticed something that made his heart sink; her Christmas tree. It wasn't the tree itself as it was dressed up in all the season's trinkets and garb, but there was almost nothing under the tree except one gift. Out of curiosity, he went over and picked up the package to read who it was from. He frowned as he rotated the gift in his hands. On a small tag in the corner, it read: _To: Amy; From: . . ._

"Sonic?"

He quickly set the present down and turned sharply to face her. He was surprised by how well she looked with a bit of freshening up. She had also changed outfits, replacing the winter dress with some black slacks and a pink sweater. Amy looked at what he had set down and smiled weakly.

"Guess you found my present."

Sonic kept the frown for a bit. How could someone as nice as Amy not have more than one gift that didn't even have a sender? She was always giving stuff; to Cream, Tails, heck, she even got gifts for Shadow, though he rarely came around to pick them up.

"I usually get my presents at Cream's party. She invites everyone. That's why I wanted to go shopping, to begin with," she said as if reading his mind. She looked over at the roughed up shopping bags and sighed.

"I guess if I can't give them theirs, I don't need mine."

Sonic could feel his typical nature coming up. He didn't want Amy to be upset, but he wanted to do more than just change the subject. What was he supposed to do? Luckily, Amy did it for him.

"Well, we better get a move on if we're going to get these to the kids on time," she smiled.

"Alright then. Point the way and I'll have us there in a sonic second!" he replied as he tucked away the fact Amy was giftless in his mind for later.

"It's actually not too far. We could probably walk," Amy explained, "but I don't think you want to go there looking like that."

Sonic immediately recalled how he had looked in the elevator's reflective surface and smirked.

"Ah, yeah. Wonder how those people in the mall even recognized me?"

"Oh, Sonic, that was a bad joke. Just go to the bathroom and clean up."

"Everything's not pink in there, is it?" he asked with some mischief.

"Stop it. Go! And yes, just about everything is," Amy scolded jokingly as she practically pushed him into the bathroom. After a few minutes of grooming and putting together the green cards with gift vouchers for older kids, Amy and Sonic were on their way to the Elizabeth Choe's Children's hospital.

For Sonic, it was a new experience of joy and it humbled him to think Amy did this every year. The kids were so happy to just see Sonic the Hedgehog come in to say hello, never mind the small gifts that caused a smile from ear to ear. He sat with some and talked to them about his heroics and listened intently at their own struggles against sickness. To him, these children deserved an award for their courage to keep faith in the hope that one day they would be well.

Amy had tears in her eyes but smiled in spite of them as some kids knew her by name; a testament to how long they had been there and how long she had been coming. She added a touch of warmth to the place as she did every Christmas season; encouragement to not only the children but the parents and staff there as well. Sonic had never heard so many sincere, tearful thank-yous in all his life. It caused his own eyes to water as he had mothers hug him and fathers shake his hand for just coming to visit. Amy prayed with some parents and bid others Merry Christmas. After a few hours of helping pass out gifts and mingling, it was time for them to go.

"Thanks so much, Sonic, for coming. The kids really love you. And bless you, Amy. Thanks so much. God bless both of you," the receptionist said to them on their way out.

"No need to thank me. It's a pleasure to do this. God bless you for doing what you do every day," Amy said back as she gave the mole a hug. Sonic grinned and gave a thumbs-up as they left the building back out into the snow. The blue hedgehog looked over at the pink one and came back to the fact Amy was amazing, generous, and well, didn't have any gifts under her tree. Every year he would get her something simple and, to be honest, lame. It was time to step it up.

"Amy? You know, what you do here is . . . really awesome," he said softly. She blushed at his gentle tone.

"Oh, it really isn't that much. . ."

"Are you kidding? You have to plan for this, buy gifts, and get here on your own. It takes a lot of thought and you help so many, Amy. It really is special."

"Well . . . I . . ."

"You're special to me, Amy, and you deserve something special too," he said with a bit of nervousness as he was still getting used to allowing these kinds of emotions out. Amy was speechless and could feel her face burning red again. It was so weird to have him say things like this, but it felt so amazing she didn't know how to play it down. She just did what she did best; sprang forward and gave him a huge hug. Sonic gladly returned it and lifted her up in his arms.

"Well, Ames, would you like to join me for a trip to your favorite restaurant and then a walk in the park; the one you really like. And yes, you can call it a date."

"Oh, Sonic, yes, yes I will," she cooed as she looked up at him with shimmering eyes. What she didn't know was this would not be all he had in store for her. As they took off for the cute café on the corner of New Jersey and Main, Sonic the Hedgehog knew what he wanted to do for Miss Amy Rose this Christmas and he only had one day to pull it off.


	7. Chapter 7

Amy couldn't remember a time she'd ever felt so happy than she did that Christmas Eve. Sonic, the hedgehog which captured her heart all those years ago, had finally taken her, the one he'd always tried to escape from, to a nice dinner at Stardust's and was now treating her to a stroll through the beautifully lit park of Celestial's Point. It was a dream come true for this long time romantic. Finally, after all this time of knowing him and wanting more than just a friendship, Amy Rose was on a date with Sonic the Hedgehog. Though, as they walked and talked, she noticed something was missing as they made their way down the snowy paths of the park.

She glanced over at her companion as their conversation lapsed into silence. His hands were tucked deep down in the pockets of his jacket, the only article of clothing she could convince him to wear on this outing. He seemed distant as his eyes stared at the scenery ahead. She then glanced at her own arms which were folded over her chest in an effort to keep warm. It was then she realized she wanted to get closer to Sonic or, in a way, see how close she could get.

Ever since she'd known the hero, personal boundaries were a must in his priorities. He didn't invade others' space, unless absolutely necessary, and he expected the same treatment in return. Of course, in her younger days, she overlooked this boundary and went out of her way to stand side by side with the world-renowned champion. Back then she saw it as an annoyance that he didn't want to hug or touch her back, but now, in her twenties, she could see Sonic's restraint in touching and grabbing was not only respectable but well appreciated. Too often, she'd see couples her age basically dragging each other around as if the other was nothing more than a toy or a prize; something they may tire of, dump, and pick up with another. Sonic never did that. Underestimate her abilities on occasion, but never her personhood. She was so lucky to have Sonic in her life and sometimes she wondered if he felt just as lucky to have her in his, especially after the way she used to treat him.

If she only knew what he was thinking, those worries would have subsided.

Sonic was trying so hard to make this work like he thought it should. He knew he loved her, but what was he supposed to do with that? He was looking out at other couples who were holding hands, linking arms, and making out . . . Woah . . . did he have to do that now too? He blushed as he turned away embarrassed. He side-glanced over to Amy and noticed the somewhat saddened look on her face and her crossed arms. Was she not enjoying this? Maybe he was doing something wrong? It figured, what did he know about romance? He was just fooling himself and Amy . . . wait.

No. Would he look at saving the planet with that same attitude? Defeated and hopeless? No, and he couldn't let himself think like that anymore about these kinds of things either. He made a promise to change and that's what he intended to do. He was going to love her whether he knew how it looked or not.

"Amy?" he asked in a squeak. Realizing how small his voice sounded, he pretended to cough and clear his throat as she turned to look up at him. He took a deep breath and pulled his hand free from its cozy spot inside his jacket and stuck it out. In lack, of anything else to say he added, "Would you like to hold hands?"

Pleasantly surprised, Amy smiled and gladly obliged his extended hand with her own. Sonic was also pleased with the contact as he felt Amy lace her fingers between his. It fit and felt right. Both of them smiled while strolling through the park hand in hand, forgetting about how late it was becoming or how cold it was getting. Caught up in the new feelings of warmth and closeness, they felt like the only ones in the park enjoying one another's company and insights. They probably would have stayed in this state for hours more if it wasn't for the toll of bells in the distance. Each ring indicating one more hour and how long they had been out.

"Wow, it's eleven already," Amy said in shock. They had been out on this date for at least four hours now, but, to her, it felt like they just started. She didn't really want it to end. Nevertheless, a stifled yawn from her fellow traveler and her own aching feet told her it was indeed coming to a close.

"Yeah, I guess so. Do you want me to run ya home?" he asked, coming to a stop with her and turning to face the young woman. Amy smiled and nodded. In response, Sonic stooped down, arms outstretched, and she allowed him to lift her up bridal style. As he took off towards her home, Amy pressed down against his chest and cherished the warmth and heartbeat of her hero. This was too amazing for her, almost surreal as if at any moment someone was going to come by and wake her up from this superb dream. But she could feel the crisp wind on her face and the secure hold of Sonic's arms. This was real, this was real. Without realizing it she closed her eyes and began purring with delight letting out heartfelt sighs every once in a while.

Sonic's lips quirked up into a small smile, but the more he listened to her happiness the more he found his smile beaming into a huge grin. He shook his head in mock frustration for a moment.

'Amy Rose, what have you done to me?' he thought as he glanced down at her sweet face. It was almost more than he could take as his heart did somersaults and backflips within him. There was no denying it now; not that there was any denying in the past either. He loved her from since who-knew-when to what he hoped would be the rest of his life. He had to say it.

"Amy?"

She opened her eyes and looked up at him just as they reached the doors of her apartment complex. Sonic set her down never taking his eyes off her. Amy did the same in return, drinking in his emerald eyes and trying not to go weak in the knees.

"Yes, Sonic," she replied. Sonic could feel his throat tighten and his palms sweat. He could feel his breathing become shallow and for a moment wondered what in the world was wrong with him. He was more afraid now than at any point facing down one of Eggman's robots and he couldn't explain why. He was a fighter for justice; seen more awful things than anyone should have to see and gone up against odds impossible to beat. When the stakes would have cost him his life he didn't even blink let alone think twice about running in, full speed. But now, putting his heart into the hands of a twenty-one-year-old woman whom he had known since they were kids, he was falling apart at the seams.

"Pull it together, man," he whispered to himself closing his eyes, causing Amy to quirk an eyebrow.

"What?"

"Oh, sorry," he said opening his eyes to look at her again, "I . . . I love you, Amy," he finally said, nervously scratching his head quills as he watched for her response. Without hesitation, she caught him in a hug, nearly catching him off balance.

"I love you too, Sonic."

She was so open with her emotions and in a way this helped him to feel at ease with his own. He hugged her back. However, when they pulled away, he was unsure of what he was supposed to do next. He knew Tails was probably wondering what had happened to him by now and it was late, but how was he supposed to say goodbye to such an experience. Before it would be a quick wave, a _see ya later_ , and a dash down the street. Now, he wasn't all too sure if he wanted to leave her at all.

"It's like a dream I don't want to see end," Amy said with sadness and a bit of fear in her voice. She felt if she let go, she might lose the reality of this experience; these last few days. Would everything go back to the way it was if she said goodbye and went inside her home? Would she wake up tomorrow and find out that nothing had happened at all? Nothing had changed?

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Sonic responded with similar fears in mind. He had not expected this turn of events when he accompanied her on this trip and now he felt confused about where to head from here. He'd come to terms that he loved Amy about a year ago when he started to _hang out_ with her more. He didn't even call it dating, but now there was no fighting it, dating was exactly what it was and now his mind was swimming with thoughts of everything Amy.

They both stood there on the front porch of Myco's Apartments gazing into one another's eyes, searching for an answer to an elusive question. Then, as if an invisible force was pulling them closer together, their muzzles closer together, an image came to Sonic's mind.

'A kiss!'

He nearly fell back in the snow as he pulled back, blushing fiercely and sputtering unintelligible words. Amy had a slight blush, not from embarrassment alone, but a little frustration as well. When was he going to . . .?

"I'm sorry, Amy," he finally apologized with his eyes everywhere but on her. He couldn't help but think why he was acting so stupid. Couples kissed and hugged and said mushy stuff to each other all the time. What was his problem? He hung his head down and shuffled some of the snow back and forth with his feet. Amy sighed and chuckled to herself. Wouldn't be able to get that shyness out of him anytime soon, but for her, it was worth the wait. She reached out to take his left hand but stopped when she noticed for the first time something poking out of the corner of his glove.

"What's that?" she asked, pointing down at it. Sonic glanced up.

"Huh?"

He looked down at what she was pointing to and would have gaped in horror if he wasn't so cool.

"Oh, it's nothing," he said nonchalantly, pulling his hand up and out of sight.

"Oh, come on, Sonic, I'm not blind, is it a bracelet?"

"Maybe," he replied coolly, but Amy's curiosity was having none of that. She grabbed his hand with such speed that it even surprised him.

"Let me see."

Sonic mumbled something, but he didn't resist her any further. She pulled back the fabric to reveal something that made her heart skip a beat. It was a bracelet, yes, but not something from a store or even anything found on his many travels. It was one she made a long time ago, like eight years back. It was faded with time and looked like it had a few hasty repairs done to it as its strand had several different colored strings tied together. With awe, she turned to look back up at him. By this time Sonic was staring off into the street like something intriguing was happening out there.

"You kept this . . . for that long?"

He nodded still not looking directly at her.

"And you wear it," she breathed as she looked back down at it. Sonic could feel the over-familiar heat entering his cheeks as his mind rushed over what she would think about it. What was the big deal? Yes, he kept it. Yes, he cared for her back then. No, he hadn't the heart to throw it out, though it did break several times and he rarely took it off. Heck, he sometimes felt naked if he didn't have it on. Then again, maybe it was a big deal. It made her so happy and in doing so he was happy too.

"Oh, Sonic!" she cooed as she hugged him. He smiled and moved to face her, hugging her back. Hugs he could do.

"You know, we may have to stop this or I might start to like it," he joked.

"Oh, stop it," she laughed pulling back a bit. Still the jokester.

"Alright, it's too late anyway; I do like it," he winked. Then, just as the embrace parted, he thought of something. His gift for Amy.

"Hey, can you wait right here a sec?"

Before she could answer, he had stepped back and taken off with a very loud burst of speed. She didn't even have enough time to recover from the first gust of wind when he came rushing back with a second. She quickly grabbed onto the railing to steady herself. She glared at him a bit.

"Sorry, Ames but here," he said, opening his hand to show a simple bracelet and necklace set in the palm of his hand. Amy took it gently from him and looked over the gold strands and red gems that decorated it. With tears welling up in her eyes she graciously thanked him for the gift and gave him several kisses on the cheek. Then she had him help her put it on.

"How does it look?" she asked.

"Just don't ask if they're real or not," he chuckled. She rolled her eyes and waited for a real answer.

"They look great, Amy."

She smiled and remembered his present since it seemed they were doing the gift exchange thing now.

"Wait here real quick," she directed as she turned around and ran into the building. With a perplexed face, Sonic stood and tapped his foot as he waited. Within a few minutes, she was back out with a red scarf.

"Sorry, I didn't wrap it. I made it."

"Thanks, Amy," he said as he took the material from her and felt the wool stitching. He wrapped it around his neck and struck a pose.

"How does it look?"

"Very snazzy," she laughed before shivering a bit.

"It's getting late," he stated, shuffling his feet again.

"Guess it's time to go in," she replied sadly.

"Yeah. I'll, um, see you later, Ames," he said as he slowly made his way down the steps.

"Thanks for the lovely time," she replied, not wanting this to end.

"Anytime," he responded, pausing for a moment, debating on so many things. He looked back up at her and grinned. With a spin of his feet, he was off into the Christmas Eve night as Amy waved after him. She watched until he disappeared into the horizon, then turned and went inside.

Sonic, on the other hand, was making his way to Tails' workshop, planning on going through with the whole shebang for Amy's gift besides the jewelry. He had just gotten those items on one of his treks around the globe and decided to save them as a Christmas present. Seeing how happy she was to receive those, he thought about how she had missed her party and the single present under her tree. As he whipped through the teenage fox's door and spotted said fox watching a late-night Christmas Special he spoke up.

"Tails! I need your help."

_**Christmas Day** _

_Tap! Tap!_ Amy's eyes opened with dull enthusiasm as she woke up from a less than restful night. She glanced at her clock and noticed it was ten o'clock already. She couldn't remember when she fell to sleep last night or anything for that matter. Once the haze of sleep wore off and the memories began flooding back, she sat up with more vigor and pep. She had gone on a date with Sonic last night and it went great. Now, it was Christmas morning.

A smile brightened her sleepy features as she climbed out of bed into her slippers. She looked at her nightstand and spotted the jewelry he had given her laying there as she had taken them off before going to bed. It triggered more memories of her twirling around in front of her bedroom mirror and running around the house squealing in delight. She now remembered she had spent at least an hour laying in bed just going through the date over and over again in her mind, giggling and sighing over her experiences.

_Tap! Tap!_ A noise grabbed her attention. At first, she couldn't place what it was, but then she recognized it. The door? Someone was knocking on her door; on Christmas day? That must have been what woke her up to begin with. She got up completely and began rummaging in her closet for something to wear.

The knocking was growing in volume as if the person on the other side was wondering whether or not the occupant was at home. Amy was a bit flustered. Most Christmas days she spent alone, being she had no family and she didn't want to intrude on others' time with their own loved ones. She had been over to Cream's house once, but it just felt awkward and she never had anyone over for Christmas day.

'Who would be here on Christmas?' she thought before shouting, "I'm coming!"

She grabbed a robe and proceeded to go to the front door. However, when she caught sight of herself in the hallway mirror, she gasped. Quills pointing in all directions, red eyes from lack of rest and, well . . . she definitely looked like she just got up.

"I'll be there in a minute."

The knocking subsided. She quickly ducked into her bathroom and combed down her quills and washed her face before setting off once again to get the door.

"Who is it?" was her last question before she opened the door. What she saw wouldn't be forgotten anytime soon.

There, in the apartment's hallway, were all kinds of festive materials ranging from cookies and drinks to a stereo with Christmas music playing and presents wrapped in an assortment of colors. But what really caught her attention were those holding the items. Cream and her mother, Tails with a few of his friends, a few of her co-workers, Knuckles with the Chaotix Team, and people she didn't readily recognize. Even Rouge was there with a somewhat reluctant Shadow in the back.

Too surprised for words, she brought her hand to her mouth as tears welled up in her eyes.

'This is . . . this can't be happening,' she kept repeating in her mind. In major confused shock, she shut the door and took in a few deep breaths. Then she reopened the door to see all the same faces looking at her, albeit, bewilderingly.

"Merry Christmas, Amy!"

A familiar voice said from off to the side. But before she could look to see who it was, everyone became animated.

"Merry Christmas, Amy!" they shouted as Vanilla explained that the whole party was set up in the downstairs lobby and that she should get dressed quickly. With that, the whole day was a whirlwind of fun for the pink hedgehog as she enjoyed the Christmas holiday with good friends, delicious food, and more gifts than she could imagine.

All this was done for her. The party, these people giving of their time; it was for her. She couldn't help but tear up. This was the nicest thing anyone had ever done for her. They all had a great time as they danced and talked, opened gifts, and ate, but no one soaked it in as much as Amy did. Even Shadow had gotten her a present, which was asking a lot. Nonetheless for him, and everyone else there, this was a way to thank Amy for everything she'd done for them. She was definitely grateful for it; she didn't have to be alone this Christmas.

No one told her who had put the party together or who had to beg and pull favors to set this up at five o'clock Christmas morning, but Amy had a feeling she knew who it was due to their absence. She smiled warmly as she thought of her sweetheart, but then, why wasn't he here? It stayed at the back of her mind as she laughed along with her friends in the joy of the moment.

Around four in the afternoon, the party widdled down to just her and her closest friends, Cream and Celesta. When they offered to help clean up the mess, Myco, the owner of the apartment, refused, saying someone else was going to take care of that. This left Amy with saying goodbye to her last guests and heading back to her room tired; exhausted from all the excitement; good exhaustion. She made her way to the bathroom and took a hot shower to calm her senses and ease tense muscles, but not without letting her mind wander to a certain blue hedgehog. Where was he? Why wasn't he at her Christmas party? Was he the one to set the whole thing up? If she had stayed in the lobby for just a few more minutes she would have gotten the answer to those questions.

Sonic could be found in the entrance hall of Myco's Apartments, cleaning up after a Christmas party he had thrown in honor of Amy Rose. He hummed a Christmas carol as he brushed up the fallen crumbs of cookies and leftovers of popped balloons. With his speed the job was done in short time, leaving the place spotless. It probably looked better now than it ever did. He wasn't alone, however, as a two-tailed fox tied a knot in the last garbage bag and smiled.

"That was really nice of you to do for her, Sonic."

The hedgehog shook his head and shrugged.

"Well, it's nothing really . . . you know, it's Christmas and all. What can I say?"

Tails smirked. He was a whole lot more aware when it came to relationships or, at least, less naive about it than his role model, anyway.

"You, trying to be modest? That's a first. Better stop the presses," Tails quipped as he tossed the bag outside. Sonic smirked as well, but with a mischievous twinkle in his eye.

"Yeah, I guess you have me there. Honesty is the best policy, but, correct me if I'm wrong, you were the last one to toot your own horn in the news this week."

Tails rolled his eyes but blushed all the same. He had gotten an _opportunity_ to remark on some of his accomplishments, which took up the front page and news broadcasts for a while.

"The Life and Times of Miles Prower, the motion picture," Sonic joked.

"Alright, alright. But seriously. Why didn't you go to the party? It was great," Tails asked, genuinely curious. Sonic just shrugged it off with a small grin and went back to straightening things up.

"You know how it is. This was a party for Amy. I didn't want to take away too much attention."

"What happened to the modesty?" Tails half chuckled before moving in closer to his friend, "I know she would have loved you to be there."

Sonic just continued to work as if he was not interested in the conversation. He and Tails had talked about this so many times in the past and he knew what was coming, but this time was different for him. Because this time he could no longer deny what the fox had to say.

"And Sonic, I know you love her . . . If it's me you're worried about, I think I can handle myself now."

Nevertheless, this surprised Sonic as he looked back at the teenager.

"What do you mean Tails? I never said . . ."

"Well, once you said it was because she might get hurt, but we all know Amy can handle herself. Then it was the 'she could be used against me' thing for a while, but she still can be used against you. Sonic you've given every excuse in the book why you won't formally date Amy, but I know you love her. I'm just letting you know, that I am not one of those excuses either. I can take care of myself now, so you don't have to spend all your time with me, ya know. So, either make it official or tell her you aren't interested, period. You can't kinda date her forever," Tails stated quite pointedly. It appeared the fox wanted to speak his peace for quite some time now and he had. Sonic had no idea how many times Tails had to practice this one in front of the mirror, but what Tails wasn't prepared for was the response to his speech.

"I know, Tails. I told Amy I love her and we went on a date last night."

Tails' jaw dropped in shock as his eyes practically popped out of his head. In Sonic's haste to put together a celebration for Amy, he had intentionally left out the part of where he had been and who he had been with for the past two days. Sonic would have laughed at the young man's facial expression if he hadn't been too embarrassed by the information he shared. Finally, Tails regained oxygen to his brain and began sputtering out all kinds of statements and questions.

"Really? Did you go on a date? What was it like? Did you kiss her? You at least hugged, right? Oh, man, Sonic, why didn't you tell me?! Wait till Knuckles hears this," Tails began pacing around, glancing back at his companion's face to read responses.

"You better not tell that knucklehead or you'll regret it," Sonic frowned.

"Is this why you threw her a party?"

"See, I've told you too much, just help me clean up, okay."

"And I've been telling you since the beginning, you liked her. No, loved her," Tails said so matter-of-factually Sonic had to chuckle.

"You're something else, Tails, you know that?"

"Yeah, well, so are you. Why didn't you go to the party then?"

Sonic glanced at him and allowed a yawn to escape.

"To be honest, I was too tired. Try setting up a surprise party in seven hours with no sleep."

Tails nodded in agreement, seeing how that would be exhausting. Sonic continued.

"Plus, I want to do something later tonight."

"Yeah, what is it?"

"Nothing," Sonic answered, a little too quickly. He hoped Tails didn't notice. No such luck as the fox smiled slyly.

"Wouldn't happen to be something . . . I mean _nothing_ involving Amy would it?"

"You're pushing your luck, man," Sonic warned.

"I'm just joking around with you. I won't tell anyone if that's what you're scared of. Besides, maybe I could help you out," he said sincerely.

"You won't quit, will you?" Sonic replied with a roll of his eyes. Tails smiled.

"I learned from the best."

This remark only served to get a face full of Christmas cake for the fox, all in good humor, of course.


	8. Chapter 8

**_Christmas Night_ **

Amy Rose looked out her window and allowed a wide smile to take her features. She had just gotten the opportunity to rest from her adventures. What should have been a few hours of shopping but turned into something more. Her gaze slowly strayed down to her mug full of hot chocolate and she took a deep breath of the steam, warming up her being with a sip. As she sat on her couch, she drew the warm comforter snugly to her body with her left hand and noticed the reason she was especially joyful this year. The bracelet Sonic had given her was wrapped gracefully around her wrist. It caused her mind to wind back, reflecting upon the events that had taken place only a couple of days ago, leading to her happiness now.

But at that same point in time, another was reflecting on doing something he had never done before.

There had always been flaws to his character and he suspected he would struggle with them for the rest of his life, but tonight, Sonic wanted to confront one of those flaws head-on; put it to rest, once and for all; his greatest and oddest fear. For someone who constantly put his life on the line and relied on close friends to do the same, it would appear this anxiety of his didn't make any sense. But now he understood.

Sonic the Hedgehog was running that Christmas night not to stand and fight as he had done so many times before, but to give in and fall. Not to be proud and strong, but humble and weak, honest, and vulnerable. He didn't know what would happen, but he was determined to find out this time. What did it mean to love and be loved?

As snowflakes drifted down outside of Amy's apartment and snow flurries rushed up from behind Sonic's feet, the cold crystals mixed together in a wintry dance in the air. Amy heard the knock at her door with wonder and Sonic heard his heart pounding with anticipation.

She set down her mug and brought the robe she had on tighter around her.

He shifted his weight from foot to foot and tried to breathe calmly.

As Amy took hold of the doorknob, expectation took her heart. She knew who it was.

His heart was racing with suspense over this choice; his mind consumed with a battle between the belief and doubt of whether this was right. His soul was faint.

But when the door opened and Amy beamed with enchantment at his coming, he knew. His heart melted in the reassurance of this decision and his mind rested in the hope his soul had finally found a tie. However, this did not change the fact he still had no idea what he was doing here.

"Sonic? What are you doing here?" Amy asked with a bemused smile. He nervously scratched behind his head not really sure how he was going to approach this plan of his. Hollywood always made this look easy, but for him, it wasn't. Nevertheless, he was Sonic the Hedgehog; improvising was his style and this was worth pursuing.

"Well, Amy, I was actually wondering if you'd like to take a walk with me, but seeing as you're ready for bed and all I guess it could wait . . ."

Without warning, Amy pulled him in through the door and practically threw him on the couch.

"I can get dressed in a sec. Just wait here, is that okay?" she stated as she took off to her bedroom. Sonic rolled his eyes. It wasn't like she was really giving him a choice.

"Yeah," he chuckled. With a glance over at her Christmas tree, Sonic's grin widened. He could see the wrapping paper from the presents given to her that afternoon still poking out of the garbage bag next to it. That was better.

His hand went up to the scarf she had made him as he thought about how attentive she was to others. He couldn't imagine life without her . . . he couldn't live life without her. That was it, wasn't it? Over the past few years, it took being trapped in an elevator of all things to show him what he wasn't seeing before. Tails had stressed the point out in the lobby after they had gotten the cake out of his fur.

_'You spent two days with her trapped in an elevator and you still want to spend more time with her?'_

The answer had been yes, he wanted to be here, with Amy.

"I'm ready!" she exclaimed, startling Sonic out of his thoughts. The pink hedgehog had decided to wear her baby blue sweater with a pair of darker blue jeans. The color was a nice compliment to her rosy demeanor and the gold, garnet jewelry she had on offset her green eyes perfectly. In other words, it certainly grabbed the male hedgehog's attention.

"Where are we walking?"

"Ah, that's a surprise," he said as he stood up to come beside her. She pouted a bit but noticed he was wearing her scarf and smiled.

"You wore it. Does it fit nice?"

He looked down at it.

"Amy, it's a scarf. Of course, it fits."

Amy frowned.

"I know that, Sonic. I mean is it alright. Not scratchy?"

"No, it's great, especially in this weather."

Amy nodded in agreement as she thought to grab her own scarf from off the coat hook next to the door.

"So, it's a surprise, huh? It wouldn't be anything like what you did for me this afternoon, would it?" she asked with a coy smile.

"How did you know it wasn't Cream or maybe some other admirer of yours?" Sonic said slyly.

"Well, first off, you know you're the only one for me and, second, you weren't at the party because you must have been tired after setting it up. Plus, the sticker on the cake box had it down as an order for Sonic Hedgehog," she smirked.

"Do you know how many Sonic Hedgehogs are in this city? I heard it was a popular name in the '90s," he explained in mock seriousness.

"Now, that was just sad," she groaned as he shrugged, "Anyway, are we going or not?"

Sonic nodded with a smile and before she could even blink he had run throughout the entire home shutting off lights and blowing out candles. As he returned to the door, he extended his hand out and presented a gentleman's bow.

"Ladies, first," he directed politely, causing Amy to blush a little at his charm. She went out, Sonic following behind as he closed the door. Then a thought accrued to them.

"Ah, let me grab my keys so I can lock the door. Then we can go," Amy stated as she stepped past him and reopened the door.

"Oh, yeah, might be a good idea, huh?" Sonic smiled sheepishly. After she returned with a key to lock the front door, Amy did so and turned back to face her beloved.

"Okay," she said, assuring him everything was in order now.

"Well, if you're ready, hop aboard. It's a long trip," he grinned as he outstretched his arms.

"I was born ready," she proclaimed as she leaped up into his strong grip, "So, go ahead and surprise me."

It didn't take long for Sonic to reach the destination, much to Amy's disappointment. She loved being carried by him. Rocked by the rhythm of his running and enjoying the wind through her quills, but like most good things it came to an end as he set her down in front of what looked like a wooden shack. She brushed off some of the snowflakes from her sweater and glanced up at the strange building. In a way, it was familiar, as if she had seen it before or seen something like it. Then she noticed how off-balance she felt like she was uphill or something. It was also dark with the exception of a few outside lights on the small building.

"Sonic, where are we?" she questioned turning around only to find Sonic was already at the corner of the building waving for her to follow. Now, she could tell they were indeed up a hill of some kind as the ground around her was sloping upward.

"Come on, Ames. Over here," he said with enthusiasm. Amy sighed in confusion. Had she known they were going to be hiking instead of walking she would have worn a warmer jacket and thicker boots. But she was out here now and, in spite of the cold, she smiled and ran after him. As she heard her feet crunching through the snow and Sonic's calls of encouragement to follow, she slowly realized why this building looked so familiar. They were uphill alright; the peak of a mountain to be exact and ahead of her were two, parallel rows of long poles going up the incline. The posts were lined with cables and pulleys at their tops and on those cables hung benches connected by a hook. It was a ski lift.

"Wha-?" she breathed as she picked up her pace to catch up with Sonic. He couldn't help but smile at the expression on her face when she reached him at the front of the platform. There was a seat with a bright red quilt thrown over it and two thermoses set down on either side with a jacket tucked under each. Not only that, but one side had a dozen roses resting on it with a small wrapped gift box tucked within them. If they weren't way up in the mountains Amy's scream of delight would have woken anyone up within a fifty-mile radius. She tackled him sending them back into the snow.

"Geez. Amy, you could have been a linebacker," Sonic wheezed as he caught his breath. He was just happy to see she liked it.

"Oh, Sonic, this is the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me . . . oh, Sonic, thank you, thank you!" she rattled off with exuberance. She leaped up and practically heaved him up to his feet as she ran him over to the roses.

"Look at them. They're so nice," she cooed as she showed them to him as if he had never seen them before. He just smiled at her joy over the whole arrangement. It had taken a while to find those roses and even longer to convince a certain someone to come out Christmas day and operate the chairlift, but seeing her laugh and smile . . . it was well worth the effort.

"Sonic, it's hot chocolate and you got me another gift," she giggled as she took the thermos and gift box.

"Yes, but that's not all," he proclaimed as if he were a salesman, "You also win a trip to the top of this beautiful mountain with a scene only a few have seen before. And if that wasn't enough you get to do this with one and only, Sonic the Hedgehog. Maestro, if you please . . ."

A romantic version of 'Let it Snow' began to play over the loudspeakers of the ski lift as he smiled and winked at Amy. She smiled back as they sat together on the bench, putting the jackets on and snuggling down for the ride to the top as the music played.

Tails smiled as he watched the pair from the warmth of the chairlift station. Knuckles, on the other hand, snorted as he looked at the two hedgehogs ascending the mountain. The fox rolled his eyes but decided to say something for the sake of humoring the echidna.

"What is it, Knuckles?" he asked as he turned to look at the guardian. The other just folded his arms.

"I should have said no. I have better things to do than this, that's all," he stated coldly.

"Well, you wanted bragging rights, so your gonna have to work for it," Tails shot back.

"Watch it, Tails, before I turn you into a fur coat," he grunted, remembering full well he had agreed to do this in order for some fun teasing material over the hedgehog. He knew this day was coming even though Sonic had adamantly fought him over it ever being a possibility. Now, he was not only going to be one of the first who would know about this, but Knuckles would also be the first to rub it in the blue hero's face.

"Yeah, well, just go check on the gearbox, okay," Tails said, trying to use his sweetest voice. It was Knuckles' turn to roll his eyes as he shuffled away to do as he was asked. Tails turned to look back out the window and watched as the couple made their way slowly to the top where Sonic had instructed him to stop the lift.

"Good luck, Sonic."

Amy leaned into Sonic's shoulder, enjoying the scenery around her and wondering, once again, if she were dreaming. It was hard to believe just three days ago she was debating on whether to ask Sonic to come with her on a last-minute shopping spree or not. Now, as she could feel the weight of his arm around her shoulders, she was so happy she did. The same blue hedgehog that she was doubting loved her had set up, by far, the single most romantic thing he'd ever done, period, let alone for her. He had gotten her flowers before and given her a quick kiss on the forehead and she cherished those acts of love, but this . . . this was above and beyond what she had even fantasized about. He went on a date with her, threw a party for her, and now this. She had known he was precious and, in her heart, she had always held out that he would show the love he had for her but this was almost overwhelming.

"I can't believe . . . we're doing this," she said quietly as her eyes took in the freshly laid snow on the tops of trees and boulders. Sonic glanced down at her and smiled at the sparkle in her eyes. The emotion of care and devotion he had towards her was so overpowering he had to look away in order to keep his composure. In one sense, he was so happy for this moment he wondered why he had taken so long to do this, but another part of him was scared to death of what all this meant in the long run. Was he really in love or was he just being nice or something? Was he right for her anyway? He didn't want to hurt Amy. What if what he was doing was a mistake? What if it wasn't? This might be going too far and maybe he should think about it some more. After all, he was a traveler by heart . . . Why couldn't he be lighthearted about this matter like he was with everything else in his life?

'This is a bad time to be having second thoughts,' he imagined.

He closed his eyes for a moment and with that came the remembrance of why he was doing all this in the first place. He cared about her, a lot. Tails had told him the reason he couldn't be blase with any decision concerning Amy was that he really cared for her that much.

'You'll always care about the things that are really important to you,' Tails had said. And that was true.

As far as time went, Knuckles had basically told him he was past due.

'You either love her or you don't, but quit wasting both your times messing around.'

Blunt, but just as much true. Now was the appropriate time if any. Amy was a strong person with a healthy outlook on life. It's one of the reasons he liked her. She could handle her own and actually enjoyed traveling herself, so, even if there was trouble in the future ahead, she could do more than enough to get through it. Besides, he would never intentionally harm her, so, hurt feelings were not reason enough to call this off. That left him with his last doubt, was it love?

He opened his eyes and rededicated his gaze to her. He remembered times when she was in danger. Yes, he was a hero and he would give his life for anyone that needed him, but when he thought of her in danger it sent chills up his spine. Could he live without her? That question settled the dilemma. Yes, he was sure he could move on, but he didn't want to. Amy Rose was special to him and he would live and die to protect that. She glanced up at him and they both smiled as they reached the top. Then the chairlift suddenly stopped and Amy nearly freaked out.

"Why'd we stop?! Are we stuck again?!" she stressed, sitting up and frowning at Sonic who was chuckling, "What's so funny, Sonic?! I don't want to do this again!"

"Don't worry. Look out there," Sonic directed as he pointed ahead. She turned to see a beautiful panoramic view of city streets and buildings lit up with lamps and decorations; all lightly covered in snow. The lights from the town reflected in her eyes as her mouth hung open in awe. She couldn't believe how pretty it was.

"Did you set this up like this?" she asked still looking down at the view.

"Yup."

They stayed like this for a moment until she finally turned to give him a hug.

"Sonic, this is the best Christmas I've ever had," she whispered.

"It's not over yet," he said as he held up the gift box she had yet to open. Amy took it, not knowing what to expect. It would appear the blue blur was full of surprises today. She made short work of the wrapping paper and bow in her excitement and then lifted the white cardboard lid off the small box. Inside was a note folded in half and a penlight. Amy looked up at him puzzled, but he instructed her to take it out.

"Go ahead, read it."

Amy opened the letter and found it to be in his handwriting. She began to read it out loud.

" _Amy, I remember when we first met on Little Planet to this moment we are sharing now and every step in between. You used to follow after me as my number one fan, then you began chasing me down as your self-proclaimed boyfriend_."

She blushed a bit, remembering her antics back then, and looked up at him with a bit of a frown.

"Keep reading, it gets better," he said with a sweatdrop, he had written that part a while ago and forgotten it was in there. Amazing how something he wrote for her a year ago was being read now.

" _But soon you started to change and become who you are now; your sweet self. You have confidence in what you choose to do. Your heart is big enough to help in any situation yet strong enough to stand up for what you believe in and stand against what you don't. Amy, your love is real, patient, and kind; it's precious to me_."

She looked up again to see it was he who was blushing now. Her smile deepened as tears were beginning to form in the corners of her eyes. This was precious to her.

" _I only hope that you can see some changes in me too, changes you have helped me with. I have done things with you that I have never done before and I feel closer to you than anyone. I want to know more and do more. I want to be the man deserving of your love. So, now, I am coming to you, asking if you will run beside me . . . Amy, I humbly ask . . ."_

"Will you marry me?" Sonic finished, with as much voice as he could muster through the nerves. Amy's tearful eyes raised from the paper to meet with a single white rose with something tucked gently in its petals. An engagement ring. At first, she was speechless, only able to make small gasping noises in her shock. As the reality of what was happening finally took hold, she gazed into Sonic's nervous eyes with the biggest smile he had ever seen. He was also pretty sure Amy had given the loudest response he'd ever heard to a question; enough to wake up half the city.

"Sonic! Yes, yes I will!" she shouted before squealing in delight at the ring, the rose, the view, and him. Then she sprang forward and locked him in a vice-like hug. He took it with a feeling of joy and relief at her answer. He smiled too, enjoying the warmth of her embrace and the new feeling of adventure. This was a new beginning for them; a new life together.

Back in the ski lift terminal, Tails watched the romantic moment unfold with a grin. It was interrupted, however, when he heard a few mutters come from behind him as Knuckles quickly ran back in. Somehow, the fox knew this wasn't good news and wished he had reconsidered sending the echidna down to check on the systems.

"What's wrong, Knuckles?"

"I, uh . . . well, let's just say that apple cider and mechanics don't mix quite right."

"Oh, Knuckles," Tails whined as he turned to face the control panel, pushing buttons and throwing levers. Nothing responded except for the loudspeaker.

As Amy and Sonic pulled away from each other's embrace slightly, gazing into the other's eyes and slowly leaning their muzzles forward, the crackling of the intercom cut in.

"Um, Sonic. Amy. I'm sorry, but . . . I think you're stuck."

**Fin**

_In Memory of Amy Davis_


End file.
